The Power Paradox
by AnomalyLady
Summary: The Power Paradox; the skills most important to obtaining power and leading effectively are the very skills that deteriorate once we have power.Harry's first encounter with a dementor reveals something about him no one knew, especially not Harry. These new revelations test Harry on his path to find who he is and his role in the world. AU,eventual Slash.
1. Chapter 1

September 1st 1993

Harry sat on the floor leaning against one of the bench seats, his ears still ringing with the echoes of someone's screams. He watched as Professor Lupin left, absently taking another nibble of the chocolate the older man had offered him but it wasn't helping; he was feeling worse.

He felt like he was getting sick, which was odd because he rarely got ill but he couldn't think of what else could have him feeling this way. He was sweating, it was becoming hard to breath, his heart was thudding so rapidly in his chest he thought it might burst out. He was shaking all over and his skin felt too tight.

Could the dementors make you ill?

"Harry mate, are you sure alright?" Ron asked leaning down on one knee next to Harry. "Hermione I don't think this is normal, d'you think he's having another fit?"

"I don't think so Ron, it looks like he's going into shock…" She drifted off as she put her hand against Harry's forehead, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. "He's burning up Ron." She whispered to the red head.

Harry starred at his best friends, unable to speak, maybe the dementor really had done more damage than they'd thought and he was dying. His neck pinched and he tried rolling his head but there was a sort of pressure there keeping him from doing so, he tried again but still nothing brought relief. The pinching turned into a stabbing pain.

"Why is he twitching his neck like that?" Hermione wondered out loud.

"What did you say?" Ron asked the girl, suddenly serious.

"Well, look at him Ronald, he looks like he keeps trying to turn his head but can't… I should go find that professor…"

"NO!" Ron shouted suddenly, "I mean, no, Hermione. You know Harry; he doesn't like people fussing over him… Just go get him something to drink. I'm sure he'll be fine soon." The redhead pleaded.

"Fine, but if he's not better after that I'm getting that professor." Hermione huffed out, not happy about being yelled at. She had a feeling Ron was hiding something from her but now wasn't the time, Harry needed them.

The muggleborn witch spun on her heals and left their compartment after throwing another worried look in Harry's direction.

Ron rose from the floor, rushed to the door and locked it before heading back to kneel by his best friend. He looked at Harry closely; the sweating, shaking, hyperventilating and the constant attempts at turning his head were all signs of a first woge. He'd always thought Harry was a regular wizard… No one had ever said anything about the Potters being wesen… By the looks of it, Harry had no idea what was happening or what he was.

"Harry, I need you to tell me, have you ever heard of wesen…" Blue eyes stared intently, hoping the answer would be yes.

"Vessan?" Harry breath raggedly, "Ron what are you getting on about?" A violent tremor shook him from head to toe. "Merlin, I think I'm dying."

Ron panicked and felt himself woge, Harry shouted and tried to ram himself further into the corner. "Relax Harry, it's alright."

"Relax?! You've got fur Ron! Y-you look like a giant beaver! How is that alright?" Harry's panicked tone pitched his voice higher than he'd ever care to admit.

"I'm wesen Harry, an Eisbiber, you can see me woge because you're wesen too." Ron tried to calm his friend despite his own rising panic.

"Are you saying I'm turning into a beaver?" Harry asked with a hysterical laugh.

"Mate, if you don't know what you are neither do I. There's loads of different kinds of wesen, even squib ones." Ron backed away to let Harry have a good look at him. He still had his "baby teeth" -as his mum called them- which meant they were larger and more cumbersome then those of an adult Eisbiber. He hated them but at least his coat was a nice dark brown and surprisingly soft. As a child he'd always been afraid his coat would turn out red like his hair.

Harry studied Ron as best he could despite the small tremors that shook him. He had so many questions yet the pain was keeping him from clearing his thoughts long enough to actually voice them. "This is mad." He gasped as another tremor shook him. "Merlin, how long is this going to take?" Harry whimpered, the pain was becoming blinding and the pressure in his neck made him feel like he'd been set aflame.

"You gotta stop fighting it mate, j-just let it happen. I know it hurts but Hermione is not wesen and she'll be back soon." The young Eisbiber begged, his natural nervousness becoming more obvious as he paced the compartment.

"Right." Harry ground out through clenched teeth, just let happen, just let happen, let what happen? No, focus, just relax, breath Harry, breath. He felt another tremor begin and let himself go limp, his head rolled to the side, snapped back forward and the pain vanished.

Ron screamed and squished himself up against the door, as if he was desperate to get away from Harry.

The Eisbiber's fuzzy face was frozen in horror and Harry wondered how it could be so bad if he felt so great. He breathed in deeply, feeling what he could only describe as rush of power course through him. "Ron?" Harry paused at the slight distortion in his voice; there was subtle yet coarse quality to it. He pushed himself up from the floor, Harry was surprised that despite the pain he had just felt and the strain his muscles had been under he now felt none the worse for wear. Quite the opposite actually. "Ron, what's wrong?"

Ron closed his eyes and shook his head; he couldn't bear to look at Harry. He moved away from the door and slumped on the bench. "Look." He mumbled weakly as he pointed towards the window. Desperately trying to calm himself down Ron tried and succeeded in retracting his woge.

Harry turned and jumped back at his reflection. "Is that really me?" He removed his glasses and stepped closer to the glass, studying his new face with morbid curiosity.

Ron whimpered a sound of affirmation.

Harry knew he should feel some kind of disgust at his appearance; he looked like something out of a horror movie. The skin on his face had a thin and stretch-to-far look to it, his lips were mostly gone, his teeth had sharpened into ragged points and his eye sockets were dark empty voids even though he could see perfectly despite not wearing his glasses.

Perhaps the most striking change of all however was Harry's hair. He ran his fingers –which he noticed had also taken on a corpse like quality- through the now dark silver strands. It should have been disturbing, nauseating even but for some reason all Harry felt was pride in his appearance. A feeling he had never truly experienced before.

"What am I?" Harry asked in wonder, turning back to look at Ron who had gone back to looking like his wizard self.

"Bloody hell Harry! You're a Zauberbiest!"

* * *

Author's Note: First things first; I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my new baby. I've been toying with this for a long time and just couldn't wait anymore. This will not be a re-write of HP books 3-7 and Harry will eventually join the Grimm crew. Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions and of course leave some reviews. This is a work in progress but I do have about 2 more chapters already written, I'll post them soon.

Also in case you missed it this will be Slash, mainly Harry/? eventually. I'll most likely be throwing a lot of canon out the window for both fandoms.

Second: To all the wonderful folks who are reading my other fics. I swear I haven't dropped or forgetten them but I've had a lot of health issues and just haven't been able to write anything good for the other stuff. I promise I'm working on it and will try my best to update those stories post haste.


	2. Chapter 2

September 2nd 1993

Harry was only half way through his first day of classes at Hogwarts and already things seemed to be going from bad to worse.

First, word of his fainting at the sight of a dementor had spread like wild fire before they had even reached the castle the night before and Harry had no idea how anyone had found out about it. Everyone had either been fussing over him or laughing at him because of his reaction.

He would have felt a bit better about it all if he'd been able to explain that it was because he'd had his first woge. However, Ron had surmised that though his fear of the dementor had most likely triggered the woge- which would have happened sooner rather than later regardless of the awful creature- the fainting itself likely had nothing to do with being wesen. Ron had also been very insistent that he tell no one about being wesen yet since they didn't who they could trust.

He'd only been able to have a short hushed conversation with Ron last night in their dorm about what wesen were and what it would mean for Harry now. Unfortunately Ron had only been able to give him the basics; like the fact that wesen hid themselves from Wizards and Muggles alike, that you needed at least one wesen parent to be wesen, and wesen squibs formed their own communities in the Muggle world.

The one thing Harry's best friend had been very sure about was that Zauberbiest (Hexenbiest for females) were not viewed positively in general and if Harry thought last year had been bad after the parselmouth incident, this would be much much worse if word got out.

Harry on gone to sleep feeling more lost than ever, not that he had managed to sleep very much. His life kept changing, setting him further apart from everyone he knew with each passing year. Now even his best friend was terrified of him, Ron might be hiding it well now but Harry hadn't forgotten his initial reaction or the wary looks the young Eisbiber kept throwing in his direction when Ron thought Harry wasn't looking. His other best friend, Hermione, knew nothing of it if he believed Ron –he really had no choice but to believe him at this point- so even if he did tell her she would either run to the library or to a professor. Neither prospects were very appealing at the moment.

If all of that wasn't bothersome enough as it was; now because of Professor Trelawney, the majority of his classmates were convinced he was going to drop dead at any moment.

And here he was, trudging down towards the forest with the Slytherins in tow to Hagrid's class while his best friends ignored each other after yet another fight while he was stuck awkwardly between them.

Much to Harry's relief, Hagrid had led his class to the edge of the forest where an empty paddock waited for them instead of into the forest itself. It was a place Harry would rather not have to venture into ever again.

It hadn't taken long for Malfoy to start spouting off insults once Hagrid had briefly left the class unattended and Harry wished nothing more than to hex the blond git. As usual when it came to Malfoy, Harry lost his temper quickly, "Shut it Malfoy!" He barked out, throwing the Slytherin a dark look.

Malfoy sneered and marched towards Harry, "You going to make me, Potter?" The blond dared, looking down at Harry by a few inches – Harry was loathed to admit he'd notice everyone had seemed to grow taller than him over the summer. Again.

Nearly half the Slytherins and Gryffindors had gathered around them, eager the view the first confrontation of the year between them. Ron and Hermione had taken their usual places at Harry's side while Malfoy was flanked by the ever present Grabbe and Goyle.

Harry made to pull his wand from his robes -determined to show Malfoy he had no problems shutting his stupid mouth for him- when Malfoy suddenly shouted in shock pointing behind Harry, "Dementor, dementor!"

Harry felt fear grip him quickly and he knew he'd woged before he'd fully turned to look behind him. He ignored the various shouts of surprise and fear from the other students around him.

However his fear turned to fury when there was nothing behind him.

He turned back towards Malfoy, letting out a menacing growl; his instincts pulling at him to tear the blond teen apart for tricking him. His steps however failed him as Malfoy woged in response to the threat.

More shouts were heard in the background, some of fear others of confusion. Harry could feel Hermione desperately trying to pull him back but his brain was stalled on the fact that Malfoy appeared very much as Harry remembered his own reflection from train window.

The shock was such to cause Harry's woge to retract, Malfoy's disappearing a few seconds afterwards. A look of pure confusion etched on the blonde's face.

Harry stepped back, looking to Ron who was still woged and shaking his head in denial. He then looked around him at his classmates. Most appeared confused but there were a few that showed just as much if not more fear than Ron. Harry stared briefly at the other wesen faces he spotted. There was what seemed like a fox amongst the Gryffindors and what Harry thought could be a cat and an ogre among the Slytherins.

Panic filled Harry's mind, he'd just revealed himself to his entire class not to mention Malfoy. Malfoy who was a Zauberbiest…

Harry ran.

He never stopped for Hagrid's or Hermione's shouts for him, he nearly bowled over a first year as he ran back into the castle, he didn't stop running until he reached the Fat Lady's portrait. Even then he only stopped long enough to gasp out the password, ignoring the portraits reprimand for skiving class.

He ran through the empty common room, making a bee line for the boys' lavatory. Harry slammed the door shut behind him and not for the first time he cursed the fact that the door didn't lock. He walked slowly towards the furthest sink, his fist balling tightly before curling his fingers tightly around the cold porcelain.

He stood there, his eyes squeezed shut tightly as he fought back tears of frustration. He was not going to cry about this. He would deal with this, just like he had everything else his cursed life seemed intent on throwing at him.

He looked up, determined to look at his wesen self. At first nothing happened, he tried force it but after a few fruitless minutes all he'd accomplish was give himself a head ache. Finally he remembered Ron's words of just letting it happen.

Harry calmed his breathing, it was just like parseltongue; he couldn't think about it, he just had to do it.

The woge came.

Harry glared at his reflection, he let his fear, the anxiety, and most of all the anger fill him until he thought he would burst. He felt the chaotic force of his magic being unleashed in the lavatory, causing the mirrors to rattle and crack, the faucets began to leak under the invisible pressure.

At the peak of his rage. When all of the pain from his life's hardships and loss tore through Harry's self-imposed restraints and he felt as though he would choke on the weight of it all, Harry screamed. He screamed out all the hurt, the fear and self-loathing until he was hoarse and the porcelain sink had crumbled under his palms.

Breathing heavily yet more freely than when he had stepped in, Harry let himself out of the mostly destroyed washroom. He didn't know what he would do, he didn't even who he really was anymore but he was going to figure it out and no one was going to stop him.

* * *

Authors Note: And here's chapter 2. It's pretty intense and it give a bit of my thoughts on how I merged the HP and Grimm universes. Harry was pretty ansgty and angry in book three and I wanted to keep some of that, so that's what you're seeing here. Like I said this will be canon-divergence so though this follows the book in the beginning, I'm mostly using critical points to help shape things for the future. Anyway, hope ya'll enjoyed. Feel free to ask questions, make request/suggestions and of course, comments are awesome.


	3. Chapter 3

September 1993

For the rest of Harry's first week he did his best to keep himself under control and pretended that everything was normal.

He ignored any whispering or pointed looks from other students and all around pretended like the incident during Hagrid's first lesson had never happened. Thankfully to most students – the non wesen students that is- were largely convinced that Harry had simply been too embarrassed by Malfoy to stay for the remainder of the lesson. The idea after all that the boy-who-lived, the epitome of all things Gryffindor would be so frightened by something as to actually run away –let's not forget faint- was simply too much to not comment on. So comment they did.

The wesen students however were a completely different matter. It hadn't taken long for the rumor to circulate through Hogwarts that Potter was Hexenbiest. In a way it made it easy for Harry to spot other wesens, they weren't exactly subtle about avoiding him whenever they crossed his path, some going as far as tucking tail and running at the mere sight of him.

In a way Ron had been right. It was worse than last year and the Heir of Slytherin nonsense only now it was only a portion of the school who either coward in fear or sneered at him like he was the scum of the earth. But the most noticeable difference was that this time Harry didn't acknowledge any of it.

He'd even kept himself in control when the twins had attempted to scare him into a woge – after their constant demands that Harry tell them if what they'd heard was true had failed.

To Harry's surprise however Malfoy had also steered cleared of him since that day. He would have thought that the Slytherin git would have jumped at the opportunity to make Harry's life more difficult yet he hadn't said a word about it. For some reason, it only made Harry more paranoid that Malfoy was simply baiting his time for something more sinister.

The strange behavior only seemed to increase during their first double potions. Yes, as per usual Snape glowered and sneered at the Gryffindors, especially poor Neville, while he gave his instructions for the first new potion of the year. Yet Harry couldn't help but notice the strange looks Snape was surreptitiously casting towards him throughout the entire lesson.

It was a fact that wasn't missed on his classmates that when they were finally dismissed Snape had actually avoided any chance to verbally dress down his favorite victim.

"D'you think it's because…?" Ron gave Harry a knowing look, unwilling to voice his concern in the crowded corridor.

"I think we should just be thankful Professor Snape seems to have finally seen the benefit of not terrorizing his students." Hermione fussed about with her bag- which was nearly exploding at the seams.

"Weren't you behind us?" Ron asked, changing the subject as quickly as possible.

"Of course not! Honestly Ronald, now could you please help me with these?" She began unloading a portion of her textbooks to a stunned Ron before leading them to their first Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

Harry could feel the excitement build up around him as Professor Lupin explained about the boggart. He was surprised when he, along with others were called on to answer questions but he was rather proud that he'd answered correctly. Harry made no effort to stop himself form rushing into line with all the other students to get a shot a boggart hiding in the teacher's lounge.

As Neville's boggart turned into a version of Snape wearing his gran's clothes, right down to her horrid vulture hat, Harry felt himself relax and truly enjoy a class for the first time since the start of term.

The fun was short lived.

When Harry's turn finally came; his first thought had been of Voldermort's grotesque form attached to the back of Quirrells' head but then he thought of Ginny dying at a young Riddle's feet. There was a long pause and the boggart retained its shape from the previous student. It was just as Harry recalled the gut wrenching feeling he'd had on the train with the sound of a women's scream filling his ears that the creature finally chose its shape.

Many of the students screamed in fear, the wesen students woged but Professor Lupin remained calmed, urging the class to remain calm while readying himself to intervene if it became apparent Harry couldn't handle the situation.

Just as everyone – the Professor included- thought Harry would faint, Harry let go of the iron hold he'd had on himself, woged and screamed with all his might at the creature.

Harry refused to feel afraid again, he _hated_ dementors. Hated how they made feel small and weak, like he was in his cupboard again. Most of all he hated hearing the screaming. He poured his hate into his scream, even stepping menacingly towards the boggart who was much to the classe's surprise trying desperately to crawl back into the wardrobe.

He screamed at it to leave, that he'd make it regret ever coming near him. In his anger, Harry never noticed he was screaming in parseltongue.

The boggart began trying to shift forms again but the class was emptying fast as students stampeded out of the staffroom, not in fear of the boggart but terrified of Harry.

Professor Lupin who had been trying to calm his students finally gave up and ordered everyone back to make their way back to the Defense classroom.

"Malfoy, I need to fetch Professor Snape. Quickly." Lupin directed the Slytherin boy with urgency.

Malfoy for his part merely hesitated for a second, casting a quick glance at the out of control Potter. He gave a curt nod as he left the room, breaking into a sprint once in the corridor.

* * *

Inside the staffroom, only Ron and Hermione had remained out of the students. Hermione though freighted and confused tried her past to get through to Harry, only occasionally casting expectant glances towards Professor Lupin. Ron -who had woged the minute Harry had, was also trying to talk Harry down even though all his instincts were shouting at him to run away as quickly as possible.

As much as both Gryffindors were thrown off by Harry's sudden and intense loss of control, they were by far more confused by the professor's utter lack of action. Their hope that this year's Defense Professor would actually be useful was dissipating at an alarming rate.

Professor Lupin was still by the door, staring at Harry with wide unbelieving eyes. The only signs of movement from him was a not so subtle tremor in his hands and the occasional shake of his head. In short it seemed that the man who had jumped into action on train to defend them from the fearsome dementor had been struck dumb by the sight a decidedly non-human, very angry Harry Potter.

Time seemed to drag on forever, at some point Harry's magic had started radiate from him like a raging storm, leaving Hermione and Ron no choice but to back away and join Lupin by the door.

Harry was still yelling in parseltoungue at the cowering Boggart, the creature unable to find a form to scare Harry away and unable to retreat into the wardrobe.

It was to this scene that Severus Snape burst in, face flush from having had to run from the dungeons were Malfoy had found him to the Staffroom two floors up. Much like Lupin, he too froze in his steps. Yet unlike his co-worker Severus got over his shock quickly.

"Potter!" He tried to shout over the gale like magic that was twisting around to room. He was ignored in favor the Boggart, Harry stepping closer to it, his hand reaching out towards the now screeching shapeless lump.

"Professor, please you have to stop him. He doesn't know what he's doing anymore! He's has no idea what he's capable of." Ron – to everyone's surprise- pleaded.

Severus shot a disgusted sneer at the trembling Eisbiber and gobsmacked Lupin. "He should have been brought to me the second it was found out what he really was!"

Severus woged; though only the left side of his face changed. It had the same decaying look has Malfoy and Harry, pulling his mouth to side.

Ron squeaked loudly. Snape had always been scary and Ron had been aware that the dungeon bat was wesen though he didn't know what kind. The idea that Snape was a Zauberbiest (if only half by the looks of it) was all the more terrifying.

"Stupefy!" Severus Snape's voice rang out clearly over the chaos, a single stream of red shot from his wand. Before anyone could say anything else, the spell hit Harry right in the center of his back and he crumpled to the floor like puppet which had just had its strings cut.

Eerie silence dominated the ransacked room, the Boggart having escaped into its' wardrobe as soon as Harry had slumped to the ground.

Snape turned to the trio gathered beside him. His face back to its normal dour look. "Weasley, Granger. Take Potter to the infirmary and remain there until I arrive." He didn't even bother looking at them as he gave them his instructions, instead he glared daggers at Lupin who seemed to have finally come back to his senses.

"S-Severus. I- we… I didn't know I swear. This is impossible!" Remus babbled, his eyes glued to Harry as he was clumsily carried passed him and out into the corridor.

Severus snorted despite himself. "You may think impossible Lupin yet clearly," he swept his hand to point out the state of the room. "Potter _cannot_ be who we thought he was."

Snape pushed passed Lupin, making his strides long and brisk towards the Headmasters office.

* * *

Author's Note- Hey folks, thanks to all who've followed, fav'ed and reviewed. I'm happy this fic is being well received. Here's chapter 3, the plot advances :) Again, feel free to ask questions, make requests/suggestions and as always reviews are appreciated. also this isn't beta'd and fresh off the press. I try to avoid posting right away but I just can't wait ;)


	4. Chapter 4

The Power Paradox

Chapter 4

Severus Snape's mind was racing like it rarely had cause to; it was only through decades of practice that he was still in control. Control that had come dangerously close to slipping away completely.

None of this made sense to him; the Potters weren't wesen and Lily certainly hadn't been. The only wesen among Potter's friends was Lupin, and being a Wieder Blutbaden well… The wolf had certainly seemed just as clueless about this whole mess as everyone else.

How in the seven hells had a full blooded Zauberbiest come to be Harry bloody Potter?

Severus was pulled from his cascading thoughts as he reached the Headmasters office. He grimaced before muttering the password.

"Chocolate Frogs."

The statue guarding the way slid aside revealing the staircase leading up to Dumbledore's knick-knack filled office. Severus walked up briskly, dreading the coming conversation.

He knocked sharply, barely waiting for Dumbledore's voice calling for him enter he pushed the door open, letting it thud soundly behind him.

"Severus, what's happened?" The old wizard asked concerned, gesturing for his old pupil turned colleague to sit down.

Severus declined; he always preferred to stand while he was on high alert. This was certainly one of those occasions. "Yes, something has happened!" He started with a snap before mulishly changing his tone at Albus' reproachful look. "This requires your attention as a Kehrseite-Schlich-Kennen."

"I see." Albus leaned back into his chair, though he was still cautious, he did relax visibly. "And what seems to be problem Severus?"

Severus, for a brief moment, wasn't quite sure what he should say. With a deep centering breath he responded with the blunt truth, there was little sense in mincing words as the situation was only likely to get more complicated.

When in doubt, start at the beginning. "Draco came to fetch me from my class; he claimed there was a young Zauberbiest out of control in his Defense class." Here he paused, raising his hand to stay the Headmaster's question, as far as Albus knew and until a few moments ago Severus as well had thought the very same thing; that there was only one Zauberbiest amongst the third years.

"It seems there is a Boggart in the teacher's lounge, Lupin seemed to think it would make a good practical lesson. The student in question reacted badly and like most wesen do when they feel threatened, he reacted by instinct. But as this Zauberbiest is obviously without any training…" Severus' emotions seemed to boil over again as he recalled the utter destruction around the boy- he certainly couldn't and wouldn't call him Potter anymore. "I was forced to stun the boy before he could cause any further damage to the room."

"That is certainly a cause for concern. Do you have any idea how this knowledge could have escaped your notice?" Albus asked calmly. He wasn't blaming the man but as a rule the wesen teachers kept track of the wesen students in order to keep something very much like the current situation from arising. Hexenbiests and Zauberbiest were very much Severus's area of purview.

At this Severus Snape couldn't help the childish snort from coming out. "That is because, Albus, the student is Harry Potter!" He barked the name out in frustration. "Though I suppose that part isn't all that accurate now it is?" Just who's brat had he been risking his life for all these years? Had Lilly even had child?

Severus studied the stunned Headmaster, looking all his very many years quite suddenly. He'd hope, as futile as he knew it to be, that Albus would have had some inclination as to the possible origins of the boy. He saw nothing but complete bafflement. Wonderful, he thought, just like Lupin; stunned stupid!

"Are you sure Severus?" Albus asked desperately.

Of course I'm sure you foolish old man! Severus thought bitterly. He didn't even bother answering the question. "I instructed Weasley and Granger to take him to the infirmary. I suggest we make our way there now before he wakes."

* * *

Harry woke to the familiar white ceiling of the hospital wing and a horrible headache. He kept himself from making any noise or movement, opting instead to glance around as best he could. He spotted Ron and Hermione a few beds away, heads close together while they whispered furiously. Judging by Hermione's body language Harry was sure another serious fight would be breaking out soon.

He didn't see Madam Pomfrey anywhere near him, which was odd since the mediwitch had the ability of showing up whenever he woke up.

Harry tried to remember what exactly he'd done to lend himself in the infirmary again but his memory was incredibly fuzzy. He recalled his morning classes, going to the teachers' lounge with Professor Lupin for what the man had said would be a practical lesson. He remembered his classmates facing off against the ever changing Bogart, anxiously waiting for his turn to come. Yet after that all he could dredge up was briefly being frightened perhaps even feeling in danger and then a strong feeling of wanting to, no needing to remove the threat.

Could it be possible he'd lost control again? He was aware he'd been losing his temper more often than usual of late, even back at the Dursley's before his "change". Could it all be a side effect of being a Zauberbiest? Or was he somehow defective?

"Ah, mister Potter. Finally awake I see." Madam Pomfrey called out as she made her way into Harry's view. She was followed by Dumbledore and Snape, much to Harry's irritation. The last thing he wanted right now was the greasy haired man's snide input into whatever had transpired.

Just as he made to rise on his elbows, the mediwitch tutted him. "None of that, that was quite the Stunning Hex you took." She shot a very disapproving look back at Snape and woged. Harry tried not to gape at the matron's fox-like appearance but was obviously unsuccessful as she turned her sharp tongue back to him. "You'll have to keep still for a bit longer, I imagine you've got a rather strong headache on the go?" It was obvious it wasn't a suggestion and Harry knew she wouldn't hesitate to strap him to his bed if she even thought he was thinking of getting up and out of bed.

"Yes mam." Harry answered, his focus now back on the thrumming pain at his temples.

Pomfrey's woge faded and she gave Harry a brief smile. "I'll be back shortly with your potions ," She tutted at his grimmace, "None of that young man, now lie back and do not even think of getting out of this bed!" The mediwitch walked away, making her way towards the back of the infirmary.

"Well, quite the day you've had Harry or perhaps longer than a day?" Albus asked as he carelessly conjured a plush purple armchair. The elder wizard sat comfortable with a smile, all the while ignoring Snape's exasperation.

"I'm not sure what you mean professor?" Harry's response was tense and he couldn't even bring himself to look at his Headmaster, it was obvious that everyone present knew what was going on. Aside from Harry himself of course, he was truly hating the feeling of always being the last one to know.

At Harry's obvious lie Snape sneered. "We've no time for your foolishness boy, you obviously know enough about this that it was not your first woge!"

"Severus, calm yourself." Dumbledore's placating tone was calm enough yet it bellied that the Headmaster had no intension of letting the darker man step out of line. "Harry, I understand you must be at the very least confused but you must believe us when I say we only wish to help you."

"We?" Harry's mouth countered before his brain could stop him. He froze, there was quick flash of fear at what he cheek could have cost him but it was drowned out by his pride. He stared Snape down, well more like up given his current predicament, daring the man to actually say he cared when they both knew the opposite to be fact.

The three wizards sat in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity before Dumbledore, ever the diplomat, tried to smooth frayed tempers.

"You have more in common with Professor Snape then you might think Harry." With a slight nod of his head and meaningful look towards the potions' Professor, Dumbledore pressed the man into action.

Severus glared daggers at the Headmaster, but he could admit if only to himself that they needed the boy to speak up. His sharp eyes turned to the boy in the hospital bed, a boy whom they had no idea who really he was or what he was capable of. "Very well." And with that he brought his inner nature to the forefront.

Harry's eyes grew wide, he thinks he choked on his own saliva a bit too but the shock was almost as bad as his encounter with a woged Malfoy. Only Snape's woge seemed... incomplete? Harry knew he was gaping like a fish and it took a lot more effort then he would have thought to close his mouth and keep it closed.

Snape's face returned to it's usually visage, sallow and hooked nosed, Harry wasn't sure which face was better.

"I am half Zauberbeist," Severus saw the recognition in the boy's expression. "How long have you known? What do you know and who else knows of this? Do not lie, this is not only for your own safety but that of the other students." He paused – for effect. "I cannot go searching for information blindly, and loath as I am to say it, I am the best option for you to find out who you really are."

"But Dumbledore-" Harry began his argument yet it was cut short by the man in question.

"Harry, what Professor Snape says is indeed true. I am not wesen, though I know of their existence. As the only Zauberbeist with ties to both the school and the wesen world, Professor Snape really is the best person to help you." Albus' voice was gentle, almost as if he was trying to calm a frightened animal. Which is exactly how Harry felt at this very moment.

He was cornered, he really had no other options right now. He looked over to Ron and Hermione who had stopped their argument to try and listen in to the conversation. Hermione was obviously confused but she was scarred too, had he done that? Was she scarred for him or of him? He couldn't bare the latter thought.

Ron held her close, as if he was trying to protect her from the whole world. He gave Harry a nod of his head. Making it clear he thought Harry should accept the help, after all, there really was no one else.

Harry closed his eyes, and let the words fall. He started from his first woge on the train, he told the professors every thing he could remember since that day. When he was done Dumbledore laid a wrinkled hand on his shoulder while signalling Madam Pomfrey over. He promised that he and Snape would do all that they could to find out who he was and that they would help him learn control.

Snape for his part had stayed silent throughout all of Harry's story. He hadn't even glared at Harry as he rose to leave with the Headmaster, only giving the young Zauberbeist a curt nod of affirmation.

"Rest Harry, I have every confidence in Professor Snape's abilities to solve this mystery of yours."

"Thank you sir." It was all Harry could really manage as the mediwitch descended upon him with her potions. He followed her instructions mechanically, suddenly feeling very drained. It took no time at all for him to fall asleep, sparing a brief reassuring smile to his friends who sat silently at his side.

* * *

Severus sat at his desk, several used pieces of parchment sitting in his ever growing discard pile. He was doing something he never thought he would do; contacting one of his mother's old friends. He'd met her only a handful of times but her reputation alone was cause to remember clearly. She was a rather remarkable witch and an especially renowned Hexenbeist who'd left Europe some years ago.

She was the only person he could think of however that would likely help him, for price of course. He had to tread carefully, he could not divulge too much but too little information and she would not respond.

He signed the letter with his mothers maiden name, much like he'd done in his school days, before sealing it. On the front he wrote her name, he had no address but his long-eared owl would be up to the task of finding her, no matter the distance it would have to travel.

The owl took off, beginning its long trek to America, the neat scroll visible in the moonlight.

Elizabeth Lascelles

* * *

Authors Note:

Hey all, Im alive! And so is this story.

First off, thanks for sticking around for my long and unforseen hiatus. Ive had some computer Armageddons and RL keeps me busy.

This chapter was a pain to finish, but I hope yall enjoy it. The plot progresses and we are getting close to the time skips, Im not rewriting all 7 books for Hel's sake. lol

And nope, it's not a everyone is wesen and no bashing either, no matter how much I want to paddle Sean's ass for this season of Grimm... what a tit! Anyway.

For those who were surprised if not all out displeased with Harry being Zauberbiest, let me explain a bit. I dont like how Grimm makes all Hexenbiest evil, it bugs me a lot. Harry has many Zauberbiest traits; like his very real temper, and staunch loyalty to those who've earned it. Lets not forget how powerful Diana is, even when she was infant (even if she is creepy af) So there, him being a Grimm is too predictable (and already done) and I just felt this had more potential for a good story.

Ive got a drawing done up of Harry's woge, its wicked. I hope to have it up soon.

Feel free to ask questions, make comments or even requests.

THX


	5. Chapter 5

The Power Paradox

Chapter 5

Harry was on his fourth lap around his infirmary bed when Madame Pomfrey pulled the white curtains aside. She scowled at him, a dinner tray propped on one arm while the other held the cloth aside.

"I understand how this must be frustrating for you mister Potter but I wish you'd refrain from making divots in my floor." She motioned for Harry to sit back in the bed.

The young zauberbiest groaned. He hated this new routine so much. He'd now been confined to a sectioned off corner of the hospital wing for a full week. Every day since he'd woken up the morning after his first talk with Professor Dumbledore and Snape had been all too similar.

First Harry was woken up at 8 in the morning by Madam Pomfrey who brought him breakfast. Harry would ask if his friends would be able to visit today, the answer is always no. After eating -usually a mix of toasts, jams and two eggs - Harry then spent a few hours quietly reading through that day's assigned chapters.

Professor Mcgonagall had brought him his books and assignments on that first morning. She'd informed him that while he'd be required to stay in hospital until he learned better control, she wouldn't let him fall behind. She'd nothing of how much she knew, Harry hadn't been able to bring himself to ask her either. He was too grateful of the fact that she had treated him the same as always.

Lunch came at noon, again the food was simple but there was plenty to eat. Harry would then walk a few rounds in his little corner of the infirmary before going back to his studies. If there was one good thing from this whole ordeal, it was the fact that he was actually studying. Concentrating on his books made it easy to forget everything else.

Eventually Harry's eyes would tire and he would walk in between burst of muggle exercises. He'd seen Dean do them in the mornings before class, his dorm mate had explained that it kept him fit for football when he went home. Harry found it was a useful way to work his excess energy off, it also helped work his appetite up for dinner. Madame Pomfrey didn't care if he said he wasn't hungry, she expected him to eat a full meal.

Which was now. Harry blinked back at the MediWitch, the matron laying the tray at the end of his bed. Tonight was mash, chicken along with the obligatory vegetables. There was even a small pudding on the tray and Harry couldn't help but smile a bit.

"How am I supposed to learn control with no idea what it is I'm supposed to do?" Harry's tone was strained as he grabbed his tray but he tried to stay polite. The last time he'd been rude to Madam Pomfrey she'd woged and actually growled at him.

"You needed time to rest." She explained, all the while motion for him to eat. "You used up a lot of energy in the encounter with that blasted boggart, that stunner didn't help any either." The second part of her statement told she was still fairly upset with Professor Snape about it.

Harry smirked around his mouthful of chicken. It felt good to have a grown up mad at Snape on his behalf.

"If you must know, your first lesson is to begin tonight. Professor Snape should be along in an hour or so, I suggest you eat up." Madam Pomfrey exited the curtains without letting him ask her any questions, Harry groaned in frustration, again, the last one to know.

The hour passed slowly. To Harry it felt as though time was trying to stand still, he would glance up at the wall clock but the hand seemed to refuse to move forward.

With his food eaten and his assignments actually completed, Harry had nothing to do but wait. If there was one thing he knew about himself that had always been true it was that Harry had no patience. It was a flaw he knew well, it got him in trouble constantly. All this waiting was downright painful for him.

Harry did the only thing he could think of to keep himself occupied, more exercises. He worked harder than usual, pushing himself to keep his mind from wandering too much.

It was nice to be able to cast his worries aside, focusing all of his thoughts on keeping his breathing even. There was no one watching him; waiting for him to attack or do something weird. No one to make snide comments about his class work either. He blew his breath out forcefully and pushed the angry thought away just like he was pushing himself up from the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut, drawing in a calming breath while he paused.

He opened his eyes, the white tiles of the infirmary floor moving away from his face. A harsh breath pushed itself out of Harry's chest as his arms struggled to keep him up, his forearms quivering lightly. Yeah, he'd overdone it but he couldn't bring himself to stop yet. He noticed a drop of sweat fall from his forehead onto the tile, the tiny splash making him frown.

There was cough behind him. Harry startled nearly crashing on his face, instead he was able to spin himself around onto his butt. It was Snape, the man was staring at him in confusion from the opening in the curtain.

There was silent pause, Harry's near laboured breathing sounded like thunder in his own ears.

Snape cough again."Now that Madam Pomfrey has finally deemed you ready, we will begin your training." The Potion Professor's gravely voice seemed emotionless to Harry, which was strange considering Snape had always spoken to him with clear disdain.

He bit the inside of cheek to keep himself from saying something snarky, only nodding in response instead. He hated having to rely on Snape but for now, he'd hear the man out.

Snape's nose wrinkle and his dark eyes studied him coldly. "First, I believe a shower to be necessary."

Harry who'd stood up and gone to sit on his bed stopped in his tracks. His head shot up, his jaw opening slightly in disbelief. Not even two minutes and Snape was back to being an ass. "What's that supposed to mean?"

To Harry's fury Snape actually rolled his eyes and the young wizard wanted to punch the man so much his fist curled almost of it's own volition.

Suddenly a blond head popped up from behind the Professor. Harry took a step back with a growl.

"He means you stink Potter." Malfoy's posh tone cut through Harry.

As he stood there stunned he felt cooled sweat from his brow running down his face. Harry knew his cheeks were burning, the whole thing making sense now. He must look like a complete moron. And yeah, now that it'd been pointed out, he did stink… Still, he but bite something back. It was Malfoy after all. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"Language." Snape glared down, though he shot a reproaching look to Malfoy as well. "Draco will be joining us for a portion of these sessions, you are not my only responsibility Harry. You will both put aside this childishness and pay attention."

The silence that followed was almost comical. Harry couldn't believe what he'd just heard, if it wasn't for Malfoy's equally stunned expression, he'd think he'd imagined that. Harry wasn't even able keep protesting the other Zauberbiest's presence, opting instead to grab a clean uniform before making his way past the other wizards to the lavatory. He was not running away.

Still...

What the hell was that about? Snape had actually called him Harry…

* * *

Sean walked into his small apartment sullenly, the door creaking annoyingly as he shut it. Both deadbolts were drawn without a second thought. It'd been a long week, in string of long weeks.

He considered ordering takeout, but thought better of it. His salary was still crap even with all the overtime he was putting in. He prefered to be cautious with his money. _One day_ , he thinks, _this will be my city and_ -.

The phone rang from its spot in the kitchen, if one could call it that. Sean made his way to it quickly, hoping he wasn't getting called back in. He hadn't even taken his damn shoes off yet.

"Renard." He spoke in fake politeness, the one he hated but was so good at.

"Sean, how have you been?" Sean frowned and checked his watch. It was almost eleven pm in New York.

"Mother." Sean paused, the dread he'd come to feel whenever she called; always with news that one or both of them needed to get out. He stamped down on his unease. He was not going to run, not anymore. "I'm doing well, you?"

"I'm doing quite well Sean, thank you." Her voice didn't betray any falsehoods, she hadn't spoken any of their safe words either. Yet.

"Mother, what's this about?" He trailed off awkwardly, unsure of what to say. They hadn't spoken casually in years. Not since he'd put his foot down about staying in Portland to become an officer.

"Always straight to the point aren't you." She sounded proud and Sean let out exasperated sigh. "Fine, I'm going Scotland for a bit. Something's come up that needs my attention."

Sean propped himself against the outdated laminate counter, his free hand rubbing an eye socket. He could feel a headache coming on. "What could possibly be worth risking setting foot anywhere near Europe?"

"I got a letter from Severus, Eileen's boy. You remember?" Sean felt his headache hit. He remembered the Princes, albeit not very well. There was the boy, a man now obviously since he'd been nearly a decade older than Sean, they hadn't gotten along particularly well. Though he did remember Eileen as a fairly talented, if sullen, Hexenbiest.

"Yes, mother I remember. That doesn't explain why you're going to Scotland of all places." His mother and her friend had hoped that their two half Zauberbiest boys would get along, find some kind of camaraderie. That hadn't happened.

"Severus teaches there, Potions," She says the last word with amusement, he can't help but smirk as well. Predictable. "Seems he has a student whom it turns out, is a Zauberbiest."

Sean's brow creased, he still didn't understand why this was important to his mother, why she would bother telling him about this. He was pretty sure there were several Zaubers and Hexens at Hogwarts. "Yes, and?"

She ignored his tone. "The strange thing is however, Severus knew the boy's parents, neither of them were even wesen." Now she had his attention.

"That is strange but what can you do about it?" Why do you care? Was Sean's real question.

"I know you don't understand Sean but I have to go. If I'm correct-" She paused, Sean knew his mother had a lot of secrets and this obviously had something to do with one of them. "I'll send you an owl when I can, I promise I'll be careful."

"I- Surely a phone call would be better." He hated owls. They hated him just as much.

"Don't be silly Sean. Besides it'll be safer this way. I've already packed my bags, have fun playing cop." She hung up before he could say more.

Sean stared at the phone, he loved his mother, he really did but by the gods she could be so infuriating.

All he could do was wait. "Fuck it." He went to kitchen junk drawer, grabbing the various take out menus stored there.

* * *

Harry placed his empty breakfast tray on the bedside table to his right before laying back down. It was sunday morning, he'd had another late night with Snape and Malfoy.

It was surreal really, but it hadn't been too horrible. They'd met with him for the last three evenings and no one had tried to ex another. A bloody miracle Harry thought earnestly.

He did have a better understanding of his woge now at least. Snape had also explained how the threat of the boggart/dementor had activated all of Harry's defensive mechanisms. At once. Thus completely overwhelming Harry, who was admittedly wholly unprepared for the feeling.

They'd worked a little on levitating objects last night. Their Professor had said it was mostly to test their development. When Harry had asked if they were attempting wandless magic, he'd been surprised that Snape answered his question without belittling him first.

The man had explained that it took very talented wizards to do wandless magic without at least having to think of a specific spell. While Zauber/Hexenbiests, even the squib sort, could use a type of telekinesis that required no spells, simply concentration.

Harry smirked thinking back to Malfoy's sour face when Harry had barely broken a sweat while the other, technically more experience Zauberbiest and struggled slightly.

Getting to one up Malfoy had been the highlight of last night's session.

He was in he middle of reminiscing when the curtains next to him burst open, there was a shout of "Harry!". And then said boy found himself being smothered by an overly excited Hermione.

Ron quickly followed, grabbing the witches shoulder and gently pulling her back. "Bloody hell, Hermione. You're choking him, I told you he'd be fine."

The red head gave Harry an apologetic shrug while Hermione extracted herself. She blushed a bit but still checked him over. Harry returned the shrug with a smile, they both knew it was better to let her fuss now. Get it out of her system.

"Oh Harry, I'm sorry but we've been so worried about you, and no one would let us see you and Ron's told me everything, I could hardly believe it but then he showed me his _other_ face and and." Hermione stopped suddenly, her friends staring at her with crooked grins. "Right, yes. Sorry Harry. How are you holding up?"

Harry began recounting everything that had occurred since waking up in the infirmary over a week ago. Actually smiling most of the time, for once he didn't mind talking at length; he'd missed his friends so much.

* * *

The Hogsmeade train station would have been empty if not for Severus Snape waiting quietly next to the Headmaster, desperately hoping the man wouldn't try to fill the silence. Severus enjoyed silence as often as he could.

The two wizards stood side by side on the train platform. Madame Lascelles had written back, stating that she would be taking the long way to Hogwarts. Why she had chosen to arrive this way was slightly perplexing to Severus but he was relieved that she had at least accepted his request for her assistance. The price of which was still to be determined.

Of course when he'd spoken of it with Albus the elder wizard had only smiled knowingly before announcing that he would join Severus to wait at the station Sunday morning.

"How is Harry farring in your lessons with young mister Malfoy?" Albus asked while looking out at the tracks, thus not catching the dark man's grimace.

"I wish he'd show as much promise in potions." Severus ground out. It was galling really, since he'd stopped looking at the boy as Potter's spawn he'd had to admit to having misread the child. A lot. "There's still too much we don't know for me to make good predictions but it makes mister Malfoy rather uneasy though he's made an admirable effort to hide it."

Albus nodded sagely, as if he'd known all along what Severus would say. Gods the old man drove him mad.

It wasn't long before the sound of the train reached them. The was a simple black locomotive, it only made the trip to the village as only the Hogwarts Express was allowed to get to the school, pulled into the station with an uncomfortable grinding sound. A small amount of witches and wizards made their ways off of the passenger cars, all of them would be going to the village so the small crowd all headed in the same direction. All but one.

A tall blond woman dressed in stylish muggle clothing walked confidently towards them. She'd set her luggage down and it followed without visible prompt.

Severus didn't bother extending a hand, as rule Zaubers and Hexens didn't shake hands. He did nod his head respectfully. He opened his mouth to greet her when the Headmaster interrupted him. To his shock Albus opened his arms to hug the Hexenbiest warmly, like an old friend.

"Elizabeth, how wonderful to see you. I trust you had a safe journey from America?"

The woman smiled back indulgently, patting the old wizard on the harm before a giving a gaping Severus what he could only call a roguish grin. "Albus, it's good to see you as well. I had a wonderful trip thank you."

Finding his tongue Severus spoke as though he knew exactly what was going on and hadn't been surprised at all by this unforeseen event. "Madam Lascelles, thank you for coming."

"Ah, Severus. All grown up I see." She moved to stand in front of him quickly and gracefully. "Well, lets get a good look at you." She made a motion with her left hand and Snape felt his woge come without his behest.

He growled at her audacity, she may be a guest but that was uncalled for.

But Elizabeth Lascelles only smiled, though a slight look of sadness crossed her features. She let her hand fall and Severus half woge faded. "You look just like your mother."

Severus stiffly nodded. He heard her sympathy and didn't care for it.

"Shall we? I'd like to see this mystery Zauberbiest you've got yourselves." The Hexenbiest strolled past both wizard, her bags still following her. She paused turning back to the wizards who had yet to follow. "You didn't mention the boy's name Severus, I'm sure you had good reasons too. Surely you can tell me now."

Snape shared a brief look with the Headmaster, later, there would be time to ask how exactly Elizabeth Lascelles a Hexenbiest witch who'd gone to Beauxbatons, knew Albus Dumbledore.

Albus nodded to Severus, giving his permission for the name to be given. "Harry Potter." Severus spoke quietly, his steps taking him to stand next to her. He studied her face, looking for any sign that could be gleamed. He saw none. Instead the turned to look towards the castle.

"I see." She spoke softly, the only sign that she'd actually heard Severus' answer. Elizabeth nodded her head, agreeing to something, though Snape wasn't sure what.

"Quickly then." She continued her march towards the school, apparently she wasn't going to wait for them.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

Im alive! Did you know its really hard to type with a torn shoulder?

So first off, hope ya'll enjoyed the new chapter. I ended up re-writting this chapter several times, Im mostly happy with this final version. The plot, it moves!

The issue of Harry's "origin" will be coming up shortly. I've got a few ways I could make it and Im curious to see what the internet thinks. So put your vote in a review (i know theres a way to do a poll but im lazy)

1- Sean gets another half brother (but Harry is so much cooler than Victor or Eric, assbutts that they are)

2- harry was adopted by the potters from a mysterious wesen couple.

3-Lilly tried to turn herself (or someone else did) into a Hexenbiest while pregnant with Harry

4-Lilly was a surrogate for Harry's Hexenbiest bio mom who never came back for him/disapeared

Or if someone has other ideas, feel free to share. :)

Till next time.


	6. Chapter 6

Power Paradox

Chapter 6

 _Sept.19 1993_

Elizabeth paused once she'd set foot through the high doors and into what was essentially Hogwarts' lobby. Her heart gave a twist of nostalgia, it'd been so long since she'd set foot in a proper castle.

"Is everything alright my dear?" Albus asked as he reached her side. Once seeing her face he nodded in understanding. "Ah. I don't believe you've been to Hogwarts before. How does it compare to Beauxbatons?"

Elizabeth chuckled, even under these circumstances the rivalry between the two great magical schools couldn't be fully abated. She loved her alma mater but Hogwarts did have a certain charm and warmth she was sure was unique to this castle. Not for the first time she wished Sean would have been able to spend his youth here instead of the muggle world.

"You've a lovely school, Albus." She smiled at the older wizard, not really answering his question.

"Thank you." Albus accepted the compliment graciously. "If you'll follow me, we shall be able to talk more comfortably in my office."

Severus came into step at her right, his left arm motioning for her to follow down the corridor.

"I believe I'd like to see the boy right away. Alone." She remained in place, her face serene yet expectant. They'd ask for help and they were going to do this her way. She didn't give them time to argue either, instead she snapped her fingers, a piece of crisp white stationary appearing in her hand, then extending it towards Severus. "I'll need these ingredients right away. Albus can show me to where you're keeping the child."

Elizabeth turned to Dumbledore, a slim blond eyebrow raised expectantly.

"I suppose it would be best to not keep the young man waiting any longer than he already has." The Headmaster offered her his arm. "I'm sure Professor Snape will have everything that you need."

Severus Snape did his best not to gape openly, opting to take the note handed to him with obvious suspicion. He did indeed have the ingredient listed there, he wondered if she expected him to make this Zaubertrank. It would be a nice change of pace.

At his small nod of agreement, Elizabeth pointed to the luggage that had been following her. "I've brought my own equipment of course, I trust you'll be able to find a suitable place for me to work after I've spoken with the boy."

"Of course Madam Lascelles." He was admittedly disappointed that he would not be brewing after all. Perhaps he'd at least be able to watch. "I'll be in my personal lab Headmaster." Severus only waited for a nod from Albus before making his way down to the dungeons, the Hexenbiest's bags keeping pace after him.

* * *

Harry grimaced as he tried to apologize again for forgetting Hermione's birthday. Which was today, he hadn't even had a chance to order a present for her ahead of time by owl order.

"Honestly Harry, that's enough." Her sincerity clear in her face while she squeezed his hand. "It's understandable with everything that's been going on. Finally getting to see you is present enough for me, besides, Ronald gave me a lovely gift this morning."

Harry shot a surprised look to Ron, "He did?"

"Course I did!" Ron defended between bites of Harry's left over toast. Though his face turned a light shade of pink under his freckles.

During their exchange Hermione had been digging through her bag. Harry could swear it looked even more packed than the last time he'd seen her. Had she found a charm to make it all fit?

She beamed happily as she pulled a small old book, it looked more like a notebook actually. "It's all about _Eisbibers_." She whispered the name but her eyes had a manic glow to them that Harry was very familiar with. She clutched the book to her chest lovingly.

Harry gave Ron another surprised look, truly wondering when his best mate had development that sort of intuition…

The Eisbiber shrugged. "What? She kept asking questions all the time, so I talked Fred and George into getting me copy." Over Hermione's shoulder however, where she couldn't see his face, Ron made frantic a shushing motion, glaring at Harry to keep quiet.

Harry barely held in his snort. Ron was obviously lying since he'd already told him wesen didn't really keep written records like that. He'd get Ron to tell him how he'd done it later, it must have cost Ron something awful if he had truly involved the twins.

Before the conversion could carry on however there was cough from an opened sliver in Harry's privacy curtains. Professor Lupin stuck his head through, looking rather uncomfortable. "I'm sorry to intrude but I'd like a word with Harry please."

Harry looked at the professor curiously before turning to his friends. He was torn, after not having seen Ron and Hermione for so long Harry didn't want them to go and it was obvious Lupin wanted to talk privately.

Curiosity had always been a weakness for Harry however.

Unsurprisingly Hermione got up, giving Harry an understanding smile while she nudge for Ron to do the same. She picked up her bag, surreptitiously placing her new book back into it.

"Of course Professor." Hermione grabbed Ron's arm, pulling the other teen away. "We'll see you later Harry."

"Yeah, mate. Later." Ron having just caught on agreed casually, making a quick grab for more of Harry's leftovers before Hermione tugged on his arm again.

Professor Lupin stood awkwardly for a moment. Harry took pity on the man and motioned for one of two empty chairs by his bed. "You wanted to speak to me about something?"

The man sighed, the tired kind with a lot of sadness, it made Harry a little concerned. Generally speaking that wasn't the expression you wanted someone to have when they had something to tell you.

It seemed that his worry had shown because the professor sat down and smiled reassuringly. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to come see you until now." Lupin offered gently, Harry found the man's voice oddly soothing.

"It's alright Professor, Madam Pomphrey keeps me well guarded." They shared a chuckle, some of the tension leaving them. "You couldn't have known what would happen with the bogart sir, I'm sorry I ruined your lesson. It'd been brilliant until then." Harry winced at his babbling. But it was true, no one had known about Harry being wesen and the lesson had been brilliant until he'd gone mad and trashed the place. Not the best impression he could've made on his new Professor.

When the man winced in turn, Harry began to worry Lupin did indeed blame himself.

"I should have known." Lupin interjected defeatedly.

"What?" Harry blurted out in surprise and confusion.

"You see Harry, when I first met you on the train I knew who were right away." Lupin raised his hand to stop Harry from asking what he meant. "It was your eyes. Your mother's eyes. My friend Lily's eyes." Lupin explained morosely.

"You knew my mother?" Harry practically threw himself at the man in his excitement. Everyone always spoke of his father, his mother though, he knew nearly nothing about.

"I was friends with both your parents, Lily was an extraordinary witch and a fierce friend." Lupin hesitated. "Harry, I knew Lily and James Potter like few others did, which is why I was completely surprised when I found out about you being a Zauberbiest."

"Oh." Harry deflated instantly. He felt himself tear up and woged without meaning to for the first time in days.

Lupin flinched and woged as well, only for a moment however. "I'm sorry. I did not want to upset you but you've a right to know at least what I know. I don't understand how this has happened to you. Being Blutbad myself, I would have known if either Lily or James were wesen." Lupin ran a tired hand through thinning hair.

Harry's woge retracted and sat there numbly listening as Lupin continued his story.

"I didn't see your parents often after they went into hiding. Lily was pregnant with you, we were all at the house when she had you. I went to your first birthday party." Lupin leaned forward in his chair and tried to smile good naturedly. "Yes you do look like James but you've actually got more of Lily in you. I just don't understand…"

"Uh." Harry whispered, leaning back against the headboard of his hospital bed. This was what he'd avoided thinking about this whole time, he'd done everything he could to not dwell on the fact that his parents might not actually be his parents. Because if he wasn't Harry Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, then who the hell was he?

"Harry, I promise you, I'll do everything I can to help you through this. I'll speak to Sev." Lupin coughed strangely. "I'll speak to Professor Snape today, maybe I can help. I trust he's been treating you fairly in your wesen lessons with him."

"Thank you Professor, and surprisingly Snape's' been sort of decent." Harry snorted, he could hardly believe it himself.

Lupin straightened up in his chair and smirked instead of chastising Harry for his disrespectful tone towards another professor.

There was knock.

Harry turned towards the curtains frowning; after all, one couldn't actually knock on hanging fabric? He received his answer by way of Dumbledore opening said curtains slowly.

"Good morning Harry, Professor Lupin." The headmaster greeted them jovially.

"Headmaster." Lupin rose from his seat. "I was just having a chat with Harry about his parents."

Dumbledore rested a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "Thank you Remus, I'm sure young Harry appreciates it." Both the older wizards turn to Harry.

"Good morning Professor, and I do. Thank you Professor Lupin." Harry rushed awkwardly, his mind still focused on what he'd learned about his his parents.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Harry but I have someone here who would very much like to meet you. She is here to help us solve this mystery of yours my boy." Albus moved aside to let the a tall blond witch through.

He hadn't seen her as she'd been waiting out of view behind the curtains, Harry brows creased. Had she been waiting to make an entrance?

Harry wondered if she was related to Malfoy, something about her demeanor maybe it was the was she stood next to Dumbledore like it was no big deal.

Before introductions could be made however, Professor Lupin had stiffened. There was a low growl in the back of his throat that seemed wholly out of place on the so far soft spoken man. "You!"

Lupin turned to the Headmaster, looking altogether confused. "Why would she know anything about Harry, Albus? What is going on?"

The witch looked to Harry briefly, he almost shivered under her scrutiny brief scrutiny but then she give him a warm smile before turning to Lupin. She seemed completely unphased by his professor's hostility.

"I remember you Blutbad, still on the wagon I take it?" Her tone was sharp and acerbic.

Lupin glared at the witch, "You had something to do with this didn't you? I knew we couldn't trust you!" He woged, side stepping around a shocked Dumbledore to get in front of her.

The witch woged in response this his threat, a threatening growl coming from her decaying jaw. Harry let out a strangled noise of surprise.

Things made a bit more sense to him now, the witch was also a Hexenbiest, who like Lupin had apparently known his parents. He felt himself panic at the idea that they would end up fighting right here or worse, leave. He needed answers from them!

"STOP!" Harry shouted, unbeknownst to him his green eyes had glowed brilliantly for a moment. He felt familiar power surge through him at his command. A slight shock wave of magic forcing those it hit with Harry's will, the room became silent instantly.

The young Zauberbiest stared at the three adults frozen around him. It was if he'd cast a spell, yet he hadn't; like this summer with aunt Marge but more controlled this time.

"Fighting isn't going to help me." Harry reprimanded as he rose from his bed, arms crossed petulantly across his chest. He was finally in control, something he'd been wishing for for quite some time. It felt good to finally have say, he was wary of giving it up so quickly.

When no one answered, Harry realized he was still keeping them frozen. "Oh, right." Sheepishly Harry shrugged, closing his eyes he sat back down to concentrate on letting them go. He thought briefly that he could feel his magic letting go of the others, coiling off and creeping back to him. He shivered.

The adults breathed out in unison, their heads turning to study Harry. He met their searching gaze defiantly, he hadn't done anything wrong, they were the ones who'd been behaving like school children.

"I'm sorry Harry, I was out of line." Lupin's apology was sincere enough but Harry didn't miss the fear in the man's eyes when he looked at Harry.

"That was very impressive young man. My name is Elizabeth Lascelles, pleasure to meet you." The Hexenbiest smiled at him, her light French accent made Harry wonder how she'd known his parents. She didn't try to shake his hand but she inclined her head in greeting.

"Yes, yes, very impressive Harry. I shall caution you however to refrain from controlling others actions, free will is something to be respected. I understand you meant well my boy but I would have stepped in should the situation have truly warranted it." Dumbledore was overly calm and understanding, it made Harry's hackles stand on end.

He understood what the Headmaster was saying but he was also done with waiting for the older Wizard to come to the rescue at the last minute. Albus Dumbledore, as proven by Harry's current predicament, did not know everything.

"I understand sir." Harry was fully aware that he wasn't apologising for what he'd done.

For a moment, the room became uncomfortably silent.

"That was certainly exciting." Albus clapped his hand, ignorant of the strange looks those around him were giving him. "I can assure you Harry that Madam Lascelles is a very talented witch and Hexenbiest, she worked with your parents and others in the fight against Voldemort."

Dumbledore made his way to the curtain, "We shall leave the two of you to discuss things. Remus, if you please." He motioned for Lupin to follow him and Harry noticed how the Blutbad hesitated.

"We'll talk later Harry if you wish." Lupin gave Harry a tired smile as he followed the Headmaster out of Harry's _room_.

"Yeah, thank you Professor." Harry gave Lupin a stunted wave goodbye before turning Madam Lascelles. "How did you know my parents?" Harry wasn't one to waste an opportunity to learn more about his parents when it presented itself so soon. The fact that Dumbledore had said that she could help him made him all the more eager.

She smirked at him as she sat down on the chair Professor Lupin had not been sitting in. "I did, I also knew Mr. Lupin as I'm sure you've already noticed, though not as well since he was rarely at the meetings. I knew Black too of course."

"Excuse me but did you just say Black? Like the murderer Sirius Black?" Harry's brows wrinkled suspiciously. He hadn't really thought of the man, despite the fact that there had been something very strange about the whole Sirius Black affair. It was deeply irritating.

His question seemed to surprise the Hexenbiest, not in a good way either. Harry actually sunk a little further into bed at her darkening face.

She turned head, glaring at the spot where the two wizards had been. It took very little time but her expression turned passive as if nothing had happened. Finally after giving Harry another soul searching stare she gave herself a nod.

"I'm sure the last few weeks have been strange for you," It was said pleasantly, like she was trying to put him at ease. She raised a patient eyebrow when Harry snorted. "Tell me about yourself Harry?" She wasn't going to really push him it seemed but she wouldn't let it go completely either.

"Why?" Harry replied quickly. He didn't trust adults easily or anyone else for that matter. Ron and Hermione were the only people he could truly rely on.

"Well, I see you've got good instincts as well." She leaned back into the chair, still managing to make slouching look regal. "Very well. I shall tell you why I think I can help you."

"I'm listening." It was the least he could after all.

"Several years ago, before you were born, I was forced to go into hiding with my son. We were on the move constantly, I was able to buy some time and respite by helping Dumbledore and his resistance group against Voldemort."

Harry perked up in interest, she hadn't flinched or hesitated at the name like so many witches and wizards did. She'd just gained a little bit of his respect.

"It's there that I met your parents and their friends. Lupin, Lord Black and a few others not worth mentioning." She waved a hand dismissively and Harry couldn't help comparing her to Malfoy again.

"What do you mean; _Lord Black_?" Harry cut in. "Wizards have Lords?"

Madam Lascelles frowned at Harry. "They've told you absolutely nothing have they?" The Hexenbiest practically spat the words out. She woged briefly and Harry did his best to study her appearance in this form. It was strange really, her visage should be repulsive, like his own but he found it appealing and he just couldn't figure out why.

Once her human features returned, Harry glared at the curtains, no, no one ever does, he thought bitterly and said as much.

"I didn't think I would have to give you a history lesson, but needs must." She sighed, reached in her pocket to pull out a slim tanned wand, after a few complicated waves she placed it back in her pocket. "There, that will guarantee some privacy at least."

"I'll ask that you not interrupt, keep your questions for later." The Hexenbiest gave Harry a pointed look and he nodded his head. "Good. Now where were we? Yes, Sirius Black is in fact a Lord, and was _very good_ friends with your parents."

Harry wondered at the strange way she'd said that, _very good_ , it was the first thing on his mental list of questions. Followed by so many more, he kept silent though, he wanted to hear the whole story.

"It was during my second meeting with them that I noticed something strange about Sirius, no one else aside from James and Lily seemed to notice it however. It took two more meetings before I figured it out. Sirius was taking a Zaubertrank to suppress his Zauberbiest side." She paused, giving Harry another stare as he opened his mouth. Right, no questions, he had to be patient Harry groaned silently.

"I couldn't let something that risky go on. What Black was doing was extremely dangerous, not just to himself but to those around him as well. Myself included. I confronted the three of them in private, it was difficult to convince them to tell me what was happening. Your mother was a smart witch though, I liked her very much. She was the one to convince the others to let me in on the secret." Elizabeth smiled sadly, seemingly caught in a memory.

"It was then I was told of something I could never have dreamed of. The Black family is old Harry, when the Wizarding World separated from the Muggles the Nobles kept their lands and titles. The Blacks amongst those, and they remained mostly _pure_ in the sense that the main branch of the family either intermarried or allied with other wizarding families." Harry shared Madam Lascelles pinched face of disgust at the notion.

"Sometimes however they married into powerful magical wesen families. Sirius' parents were not wesen but Walburga Black was a deranged witch as well as a staunch Voldemort supporter.

"The summer of his sixteenth year Walburga managed to find a Hexenbiest with enough talent to awaken latent genes in both Sirius and his younger brother Regulus. Sirius ran away as soon as he'd realized what his mother had done to him. He went to James, with whom I was told had been his best friend since they'd been sorted into Gryffindor together.

"The Potters, James parents, were able to find someone to make the suppressant for Sirius. The four of them swore to secrecy. I was never told how Lily found out but it wasn't that hard to figure out.

"I told them of the dangers if he continued on that path and I offered to help him accept who he was." She laughed low and bitter.

Harry was absolutely captivated, he was learning so much so quickly. So many things he hadn't known, important things about the world around him. Not for the first time Harry was forced to cast his thoughts aside in order to follow the rest of Madam Lascelles' story.

"It was hard not be insulted by Sirius' demand that I cure him not teach him yet I could understand his point of view. Sirius Black had done everything in his power to distance himself from his mother, his family. Yet they'd tried to trap him to them in a sense, they tried to change who he was through his very DNA.

"Unfortunately the only _cure_ that I knew of was a guarantied death sentence for Sirius and likely for everyone else involved. It was your mother who conjured a solution for us. She asked me a simple question; was there a way to take Sirius' Zauberbiest and give it to someone else. To her, to be precise.

"Hexenbiests Harry, can be very loyal but we're not of a forgiving nature." Madam Lascelles smirked darkly. "I'd heard of a Zaubertrank that if done correctly, enabled a Hexenbiest to steal the spirit of a Zauberbiest for herself. It was often used to punish lovers who had strayed. It's archaic magic, very taboo and hardly spoken of, lucky for Sirius, I have a lot knowledge."

Harry swallowed thickly. He was beginning to put the picture together and he was not liking what he was seeing. How lucky could it have been for Sirius Black if as far as Harry knew, the man had gone on a crazy murderous rampage…

"It took some time to find the right book, your mother followed me every step during that time, going over all my notes, seeing for herself that it would be possible. Difficult and dangerous yes, but possible. It was a challenge we both relished in. Your mother knew things about Hexenbiests that very few not born into it could know. She understood the benefits and the risks. Becoming one was something she wanted." Madam Lascelle paused, for the first time Harry felt that she was hesitating to tell him something.

"Harry, you're thirteen, correct?" Harry nodded, confused by the sudden question. "Then I very much hope that I'll not have to explain the basics of sex?"

Harry turned beet red and shook his head vigorously. Between Fred and George as well as his dormmates, Harry felt he probably knew more than someone his age was supposed to know. He didn't need or want Madam Lascelle to explain that.

The realization of what the Hexenbiest at his bedside had hinted at with her strange question hit Harry with such force he felt someone had just knocked the wind out him. "But?" Harry struggled for a moment, was it possible to drown out of water?

This time Madam Lascelles didn't reprimand his question, she remained silent letting Harry find his words.

"Are you saying my mum slept with Sirius Black, who later turned traitor, to take what had been done to him for herself, turning herself into a Hexenbiest?!" Harry's tone turned slightly hysterical as he ran out of breath. Taking a quick gulp of air he trudged onwards, unable to stop himself. "I'm a full Zauberbiest, my woge is full like yours and Malfoy's, not like Snape who's half. You haven't said anything about James Potter becoming wesen. Merlin, my mum cheated on James?"

Harry looked at Elizabeth Lascelles in clear panic. "Am. Am I a. A Black and not a Potter?" Now Harry was hyperventilating. He was the son of traitor and a murderer.

He didn't notice the Hexenbiest raise from her chair to sit next to him, he startle when she put a gentle hand in his hair while the other took hold of his other hand.

She spoke calmly, though Harry had no clue what the words were, it didn't sound like english. Tears escaped unbidden causing him try and twist himself away from the person who'd both given him the answers he'd wanted and torn his world apart.

"Harry." Madam Lascelles pulled Harry's face to meet hers, all the while keeping her breath slow and death coaching him to do the same. "Harry, I'm not finished yet, I'll ask that you be patient and I will answer your questions."

Harry nodded mutely, concentrating on remaining calm. It was a struggle but he was very proud of the fact that'd he'd managed it.

"First I will say that I have never believed that Sirius could have betrayed James and Lily Potter. I don't understand how anyone who knew him could think it true. Wizards and Witches Harry, as I'm sure you've noticed, have their own prejudices, they also don't like complicated things." She shared Harry's snort, yes he knew that very well.

"If there is one thing I came to know for certain during my time with those three is that they loved each other deeply but they also kept it a secret. Do you understand what I mean by that?"

Harry looked to her and nodded. It was strange but he understood the basics and he could understand why they would've wanted to keep _that_ secret.

Madam Lascelles continued, obviously pleased with his answer. "And yes, your mother became a Hexenbiest in series of rituals that involved having intercourse with Sirius, James knew that and was far more concerned with Lily and Sirius' safety than anything else."

So Harry had been right to an extent.

"I'll wager it was the grief of losing them that drove him crazy, but he would have never betrayed them or you." She looked at Harry with conviction and sincerity, he knew she was telling the truth.

So far Elizabeth Lascelles had been almost brutal in her honesty with Harry. She had spoken to him openly, and with respect, and it just made sense in a twisted sort of way.

"I honestly don't know who your father is Harry. If you'd been conceived after the ritual you would be half-Zauberbiest, regardless of who fathered you. It's possible the ritual could have turned you fully like it did Lily. I've no way to be sure if Lily was already pregnant at time or if you were conceived that night. But there is a simple way of finding out." Seeing that Harry had calmed down to her liking the Hexenbiest made to rise but he held her there.

Harry didn't often allow himself to be comforted by others, it felt strange and uncomfortable. However at the moment, Madam Lascelles was acting as the grounding point he desperately needed.

Harry sighed in relief when she smiled in understanding and remained at his side. "How do we find out?" He'd come this far, there was no backing out now, besides there were no doubts in his mind that he had to know.

"You come with me to Professor Snape's potions lab so I can brew a Zaubertrank that will show us if you've got noble blood or not." Madam Lascelles' smile was the sort of someone who found herself particular clever. She looked expectantly at Harry, waiting for him to come up with the answer himself liked he'd mostly done so far. He was really beginning to like her.

"Right." Harry said with a self deprecating chuckle. " _Lord_ Black."

"Indeed Harry." She was proud, he wasn't sure why but it was plain as day on her face. "We can do it now if you wish?" When she rose, Harry let her go, she stood in front him her expression unreadable again. She was giving him the choice.

"I think I've waited long enough honestly." Harry said cheekily before jumping off his hospital bed.

"Good." Harry wondered exactly what she meant by that, but he felt he could figure it out later. "I'll wait for you on the other side Harry." She made her way towards the curtains.

"Wait, what?" Harry took a step towards her and stopped short. Right, he was still in his pajamas. It was sunday morning after all. "Right, yes. I'll be right there Madam Lascelles." Harry scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed.

"Call me Elizabeth, please." She left right after that, not giving him a chance to embarrass himself further, which Harry was very grateful for.

* * *

When Harry stepped out into the infirmary he did so cautiously, he hadn't been allowed to leave his _room_ since he'd been brought here. A quick scan showed no sign of Madam Pomfrey, he did spot Elizabeth talking with Dumbledore by the door.

He tried to walk casually yet quietly, hoping to catch what was being said. His effort proved fruitful.

Dumbledore stood with his back to Harry, Elizabeth was slightly to the side facing him but her attention was focused on the Headmaster. She didn't look very happy.

"No, it's up to the boy to tell you what he knows now. Since no one saw fit to educate him properly, I see no reason to give you that courtesy Albus. My god, what were you thinking?" Her whispers were low and polite but there was no hiding the fact that Elizabeth Lascelle was sticking it to Dumbledore on Harry's behalf.

Harry beamed while still keeping his distance, trying desperately to blend into the background so he could hear what Dumbledore had to say. He didn't have to wait long.

Dumbledore seemed to take a sad shaky breath. "I would think that with what Sean's childhood was like you would understand better than most, Elizabeth. The boy deserved a proper childhood, I owed his parents that much."

It was as if the air had been sucked out of room in that moment, Harry winced sharply. He got the distinct impression that that had been a low blow, Elizabeth's expression looked very similar to that of aunt Petunia before she tore into Harry.

It was made worse for Harry however by way that he'd never actually gotten a childhood. Not with the Dursleys.

"I'm sorry Professor." Harry's voice was void of any anger. Detached, maybe even sad but he couldn't bring himself to feel much else anymore. He was wrung out and simply wanted to finally get to the bottom of all this. "I'm sure you meant well but I never got that childhood." He paused as the adults turned to look at him.

Dumbledore looked suddenly very old and tired, there was a sadness and confusion in his eyes that told Harry the old wizard hadn't really known a thing about Harry's shitty life before Hogwarts.

Elizabeth only looked at him with respect, she inclined her head possibly in thanks for keeping her from losing her temper. If only just.

"I'd like to go with Madam Lascelle, sir. There's one more thing I need to find out before I figure out if I want people knowing." Harry made his way to stand at the Hexenbiest's side. He'd hoped he'd been polite but firm enough so that the Headmaster would finally catch on that Albus needed to stop treating Harry as a child.

To his relief, the Headmaster agreed wordlessly with Harry's request. Dumbledore stopped at Harry's side as he made towards the corridor, placing an aged hand on his shoulder. "Agreed Harry, agreed."

* * *

Severus paced in his lab, his soles clacking on the stone floors. Surely she would be done talking with the boy by now? He was a busy man, he didn't have time to just sit here waiting for them.

He'd set to gather the ingredients on Madam Lascelles list as soon as he'd cleared his lab of his current personal projects.

The list had been simple enough, though several of the ingredients were rather fragile, prone to spoiling if not taken care of. Of course there was no such worry when it came to his own stock.

He was about to consider marking papers when the knock stopped him from making another step. "Finally!" He gritted sharply to himself. He centered himself, walking casually towards the door, because he had _not_ been waiting around for them.

Severus opened the door to find just who he'd been expecting. Harry's presence wasn't a surprise either as there was little doubt the Zaubertrank was meant for the boy.

Dumbledore stepped to side, making way for Harry and Madam Lascelles. Snape raised a curious eyebrow when they entered but the headmaster remained at the door.

He watched with ever growing surprise when the boy seemed to deflate and turned to Albus just as the old wizard began to excuse himself. "It's alright Professor, you can stay." Harry offered and nearly choked as Dumbledore visibly perked up.

"Thank you Harry." Albus made his way in, door closing and locking magically behind him. "Severus, I trust all is ready for Madam Lascelles?"

Startled a bit from trying to decipher what he'd just witnessed, Severus stumbled in his answer slightly. "Of course it is, this way."

He led them to an empty corner where Madam Lascelles bags were set. A cleaned work station waiting nearby.

"Thank you Severus." The hexenbiest walked passed him and set out to work without prompting. She said nothing else, it was obvious they were trying to keep things secret and he wondered why the boy hadn't ordered him out.

He watched as Harry stayed close to Madam Lascelles during the whole process. Observing her actions with a concentration he hadn't thought the boy capable off.

He stood to the side watching, it was about half way through the brewing process that he realized what Zaubertrank Elizabeth was making from sheer memory.

Confusion set in quickly as he stared at the young Zauberbiest. Severus remained still and quiet in the hopes the maybe they'd forgotten he was even the room. The implications of the Zaubertrank itself were enough to cause concern.

He knew when the process was finished, it was time for Harry's blood to be added. He heard Madam Lascelle inform Harry that of that very fact. The boy didn't hesitate or flinch, extending his hand without any prompt.

Severus wondered what she had said to earn his trust so quickly.

Red droplets welled off of the finger Madam Lascelles had gently, almost motherly, pierced with a thin needle. As the fourth drop made a light splash into the golden cauldron the liquid turned a deep shade of purple.

Severus sucked in a sharp breath, by gods what the hell was happening here.

Harry startled at the noise, staring at Severus with surprise. Seemed the boy had forgotten about him. Harry glared sharply, jaw defiant before turning to Madam Lascelles. "That means noble doesn't it." There was tremble in the boy's voice that Severus actually understood. This was a very serious matter.

"Yes Harry it does. Remember what I said though. About prejudices." Madam Lascelles answered Harry softly, without pity and the boy gave her a watery smile.

"Thank you." Harry croaked before hugging the hexenbiest.

Severus stood slack-jawed, sharing a confused look with Albus. Now he was the one stunned stupid.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **BOOM!** Bloody Hell, you guys this was a beast to work with. And there you have it, I wasn't gonna leave it as a cliffy so its bigger than most of the chapters for this story so far i think. It was difficult to come up with an origin story for Harry that I was truly happy with, I took everyone's comment into account, seriously thank you everyone who took the time to do so. Its a stretch I know but I hope it jives for yall. This is posted fresh, I've only gone over it a few times but I'm so freaking happy its done I had to share. I really hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

PS. I need a beta, anyone interested?


	7. Chapter 7

Power Paradox

Chapter 7

Harry sat on a stool next to Elizabeth, Snape and Dumbledore had taken the seats across the table from them. The Hexenbiest had directed them all to sit in order to give Harry some time to process.

Harry sat in a daze, his mind trying to put all these new pieces of himself together.

At some point Snape had served them all drinks though Harry had been too lost in thought to notice where from. The strong smell from his glass caused Harry to raise an eyebrow to the adults around him. "Is this liquor?"

"Harry," Snape said rather stiffly. "I may not know exactly what has happened but I can hazard a strong enough guess that I think we can all agree; you deserve this one."

It was obvious to Harry that his potions' professor was struggling to keep his temper, the fact the he was even trying to do so was a testament to how their understanding, though new, had progressed.

To his surprise Dumbledore agreed with Snape readily. "I think, considering the day's events, we can make an exception Harry." The elder wizard smiled reassuringly.

Elizabeth said nothing, instead she picked up her glass. Turning slightly so she could face him directly, her lip pulled to the side lightly; not quite a smirk. "A toast," Elizabeth announced with her glass held high.

She gave Harry a questioning look. He could practically hear her challenging him to be truthful about what they'd just confirmed, not one to ever back down; Harry answered her wordlessly with a nod.

She gave him an honest smile, again somehow he'd made her proud of him. Harry found that he wouldn't be averse to it becoming a regular thing.

He watched quietly, focused on what the others reactions would be. It was a gamble to tell Snape and Dumbledore the truth for certain but Harry knew he'd have to tell people eventually. This way he still had a measure of control, not too mention he had an adult that so far had proven to be on his side.

Professor Dumbledore and Snape mimicked the gesture after a brief hesitation.

"To Harry Black!" Elizabeth intoned dramatically before tipping her drink to her lips. The sound of her empty glass clacked on the wooden table moments later.

Harry nearly sniggered, seeing as his professors had frozen with their mouths open. Both proceeded to empty their drinks; Dumbledore had rested his cup down gently though shakely. While Snape had smashed his down with such force Harry was surprised it hadn't shattered in the man's hand.

"I think, Harry, that perhaps now is a good time to explain what you and Madam Lascelles have discovered?" Dumbledore asked him politely as he placed a weathered hand on Snape's shoulder.

Harry watched the dour man carefully; for moment he'd thought Snape might actually turn violent but it had been only for an instant. Still, Harry remained weary.

"I think maybe it would be best if you told them what you told me, Elizabeth. Please." Harry was still sorting it out in his own mind, he didn't think he could articulate the tale properly at the moment.

"Of course. Have your drink Harry." She nudge the glass towards Harry with an encouraging nod.

"Right. Thanks." Harry gave a weak smile as studied the drink; it didn't smell very pleasant. He didn't want to show weakness to those around him though. Mimicking the adults; he knocked the glass back so quickly the liquid didn't even touch his tongue, splashing directly down his throat.

Harry coughed and gagged. He even woged briefly as he tried to catch his breath. _Merlin, it burned!_ How could anyone find that enjoyable? Harry rubbed the tears out of his eyes, glaring at the adults, who were all chuckling lightly at his expense.

He'd have told them off he hadn't caught the small smile on Snape lips. Maybe a little laughter was a worth the price of his sore pride.

* * *

"How in the name of… No one knew? How is that even possible?" Severus massaged his temples, maybe he could just ram his fingers into his eye sockets and be done with it. _By the Gods, Lily_.

Oh, he wasn't truly surprised, this smacked of Lily's wicked mind. And poor Regulus, no wonder he'd always been so secretive. And Black, taking suppressants of that nature was extremely dangerous especially for the mind. "Albus?" He turned to the old wizard expectantly.

"I'm sorry but I had no knowledge of any this." Dumbledore shook his head sadly, Snape could see the hurt in the blue eyes. It wasn't just ego, of course Albus knew he wasn't infallible but he'd been close to those five in particular. No doubt it stung that they hadn't trusted him enough with this knowledge.

"No one was meant to know. I believe not even Lupin knew. That sort of relationship isn't exactly conventional." Severus made a snorting noise despite himself, it was followed by an admonishing tut from Dumbledore.

However, Madam Lascelles ignored the interruption. "Everyone had enough problems in those days, why let yourselves be even more miserable because of social conventions? I'm sure they'd have opened up when the time was right. And safer."

Severus could see she'd spoken that last bit more for Harry's benefit than theirs. He looked at the boy with new knowledge; if the glasses were put away or even just different frames, if you took in how the hair was beginning to grow out into curls. It was all right there. Harry looked tremendously like his mother and the features that could be attributed to Potter could just as easily have come from Black.

At the end of the day though, Harry was Lily's child. It was enough.

Now there was the matter of Harry's safety. Judging from Madam Lascelles bold opening announcement, the boy did not intend to hide his new found heritage. That would bring a slew of problems he wasn't looking forward to dealing with.

"Harry, you do realise what it will mean if you tell the wizarding world that Sirius Black is your biological father?" He saw the boy look up startled by the question, no doubt he'd been lost in thought. Severus was curious to see how Harry would respond since he'd begun proving that he wasn't the dunderhead Severus had thought he'd been.

"You mean if I tell people that my mum, James Potter and Sirius Black were all together, like together together? That Sirius Black, who's my biological father -not James Potter-, who's also been convicted of murder and treason, who's escaped an inescapable prison to presumably take vengeance on me but he might be innocent so it's all okay? No need to panic every one, everything's perfectly normal." Severus sat aghast, that was not what he'd been expecting, though the slight hysterical tone near the end of Harry's rant was understandable.

Indeed, he could picture the faceless mob quite clearly.

He made to remind Harry to stay calm, certainly it was a good show of progress that the young Zauberbiest had remained mostly in control thus far but he didn't want to see another display of Harry's abilities whilst unleashed. Once had been plenty.

Dumbledore spoke before Severus could have his say. "I can certainly see why you would question Sirius Black's guilt given this new information and though I would be tempted to agree with you Harry, the evidence suggest otherwise."

Severus stared at Albus Dumbledore completely flummoxed. That was the clearest, none patronizing statement Severus Snape had ever heard from the Headmaster.

He was about to agree with the statement. He understood that Harry would want to think well of his father but it didn't change the fact the Black had become insane at best or a cruel deceitful murderer at worst. Severus knew very well the harsh truth of the world; anyone could become a monster.

"What evidence?" Madam Lascelles scorned.

When he and Dumbledore began to answer she cut them off. "Please, the evidence was circumstantial at best! The confession should have been inadmissible, how many spells were fired at him before he was taken in? I saw the file after he was sent away, I've got friends at the ministry too you know." A pale blonde brow rose towards Albus. "I read the Aurors statements; three stunners, two confundus and four to disarm him. Really Albus? Not even a trial?" Elizabeth Lascelles crossed her arms, letting the weight of the statement sink in.

Severus remembered just then that before Madam Lascelles had gone on the run with her child, she'd been a very good lawyer. He found himself skeptical but he was more inclined to listen now than a few minutes ago.

"What do you mean; he never got a trial?" Harry's outrage grabbed Severus' attention. Ah yes, there was that horrid Gryffindor streak of his.

"Harry, things were different back then and he did confess. No one else knew where your parents, where the Potters were hiding." Dumbledore explained, calm and reasonable but it was easy to see by the boy's burning gaze that Harry wasn't buying it.

Severus spoke before he fully realized he'd done so. "That's not entirely true Albus. Surely Lupin." Severus pursed his lips in frustration when Dumbledore cut him off.

"Severus, we have discussed this issue; Professor Lupin is not a danger to this school or it's students. He certainly was not caught blasting several muggles in the middle of London, he didn't murder Peter and he didn't confess. I understand this is a complicated matter but those are the facts we have." Albus turned a sad gaze towards Harry and Severus hated the pity he felt for the boy right now.

The Headmaster wasn't trying to be unkind but there was little doubt the statement had stung. "I'm sorry dear boy but with the facts as they stand, the moment the Dementors catch Sirius Black he will be Kissed."

There was a time when that announcement would have brought Severus great joy. Now, he wasn't so sure of that fact. If anything, the new knowledge only offered confusion as new variables had a tendency to do.

"What if I could get proof?" Harry asked Dumbledore, his eagerness suggesting he already had an idea of how to achieve that. No wonder the boy was always in trouble.

"I will listen to what you have to say Harry but I daresay it would take some rather irrefutable evidence to change the Minister's mind on this matter." Severus caught Madam Lascelles giving Albus a shrewd glare, it seemed he wasn't the only one who found the Headmaster's behavior suspect. Just what was the old goat playing at?

"We catch Sirius Black ourselves." Harry declared, undeterred by Snape's unbelieving stare he continued outlining his plan. "The first Hogsmeade week-end, I should to the village like everyone else, pretend to wander off on my own and wait somewhere where you lot will be hiding and wait for him to come to me."

 _Really, had the boy no sense of self preservation_? Severus practically groaned.

"Then once we've caught him, we sneak him into the castle and give him some of Professor Snape's Veritaserum and Sirius Black will be forced to tell us the truth." The boy turned to Severus with laughing eyes. "That is, if that wasn't a bluff last year professor." That smirk, dear Gods, Severus was having horrible flashbacks right now.

"Honestly, if I can stab a basilisk with a sword out of Magical hat, I think this should be easy by comparison." Harry's stunning after thought clearly hadn't been meant to be said aloud judging by the boy's self deprecating expression.

For Severus, he was actually hoping the young Zauberbiest would keep talking. He'd been trying to get Dumbledore to tell him just what had happened last year and as usual the older wizard had been tight lipped. The kneazle was out of the bag now.

Judging by the furious Hexenbiest across the table, Severus was sure Dumbledore was about to get quite the earful.

Today wasn't going to be all bad it seemed.

* * *

"Do you think she'll keep yelling for much longer?" Harry winced as Elizabeth's growls turned to what he guessed was shouting in French. He was grateful in a way that someone was taking his safety so seriously but he also didn't believe she'd needed to go quite this far.

Snape stopped pacing in the mostly empty corridor to stare at Harry intently. "You didn't lie once in there." The professor took a few steps forward and after some hesitation placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Upon Elizabeth's insistence Harry had had to give a full account of his time at Hogwarts and then consequently with the Dursleys. Harry wasn't very fond of pity and the whole talk had left a sour taste in his mouth. Thankfully Snape wasn't the type to offer pity to anyone.

"If I'd known the truth, I believe things may have been different between us. To a degree." The man added the last bit with a quirk of his lips.

Harry smiled to his professor in return, "Of course, sir." Merlin forbid it become common knowledge that Professor Snape was capable of caring.

"I daresay, that had she not been so successful at chasing me out of my own classroom, I would be having a similar conversation with the Headmaster." Snape added seriously, giving Harry's shoulder a squeeze then letting go.

"Thank you, sir." Harry though surprised, was grateful for the thought. It's was strange this new respect between student and teacher, not that Harry would complain.

The shouting stopped. Harry leaned towards the wooden door from his spot on the adjoining wall, his effort in vain; he couldn't hear anything. A moment of unease passed through Harry; surely they were finally talking amicably together. What could they possibly be talking about in there that they hadn't come to tell Snape and Harry that the coast was clear.

The silence continued for quite some time with only the clacking of Snape's soles once the wizard had returned to his pacing.

Harry for his part sank down by the door and sat on the floor, content to let his mind wander and plan.

After what Harry would have guessed to be roughly thirty minutes he grew tired of waiting and was becoming increasingly paranoid. He rose while rubbing his slightly numb backside before shamelessly going to press his ear on the door. He pulled back momentarily with a frown.

Nothing. He couldn't hear a single sound. He pulled his head with a frown just as the door swung open, Elizabeth stood at the frame not a single hair out of place looking rather pleased with herself. "Harry, I believe Albus and I have a proposal for you. Severus, part of this concerns you as well, I'll ask your patience as we'll be commandeering your classroom for a bit longer."

Harry pressed his lips tightly together, his plan to get the truth from Black - _his father_ \- was good and while he was young, he'd also been through worse. He gave the Hexenbiest a nod as he walked back into the room, Dumbledore seated in the same spot he'd been in before the yelling had begun.

Harry sat opposite the headmaster, the others taking their old stools as well. He watch the elderly wizard with a tinge of regret, Dumbledore looked haggard but there was still a sparkle of hope in his blue eyes.

It was easy to see Albus was about to apologise, so Harry stopped him. "It's alright Professor, I could have told you the whole truth from the beginning. I made my choices sir just like you did, no one's perfect." He shrugged, unsure of himself suddenly. He didn't want anyone pity, he wanted to move forward.

"Thank you Harry, still I must and I shall endeavor not to repeat the mistakes of the past. I am sorry Harry, truly I wish your life could have been more peaceful." The headmaster fussed with his long white beard for a moment, seemingly overcome by emotion. Harry and the others remained silent.

Elizabeth coughed lightly, she turned to Harry and gave him a nod of approval before she spoke. "Your plan has merit Harry though not without risks. Risks no one will want you to take." When Harry made to interrupt and argue his case she shushed him. "However with the proper precautions Albus and I have come up with a plan we believe could solve several complications at once.

I was not exaggerating when I said that what your mother and I did was considered Taboo. The wesen community has it's own sort of government, and what the Council finds Taboo often results in the death of the offenders. There's little doubt that word of Harry Potter being wesen, a Zauberbiest, will have made it's way to them by now."

Harry paled, he really couldn't catch a break.

"Fear not, as I've said; we have a plan. Due to the nature of the magic I used to help your mother become a Hexenbiest, one could say I became her mother." Elizabeth smiled at Harry suspicious expression. "I'm sure the council would understand why I would have given away a daughter who couldn't have been Frederick's and why I would have kept it a secret for so long. Severus was good friends with Lily in their youth, I'm sure he could testify that she had been a Hexenbiest all along. The Council would have little interest in Black's supposed crimes, in fact I believe they would be pleased to have more wesen blood in the main branch of the Blacks." Elizabeth turned to Snape expantly.

The man frowned, for a moment Harry thought the professor would say no. Harry found himself wishing that Snape would say yes. He could see the Hexenbiest's reasoning now, he could also imagine all the potential benefits of gaining a grandmother who'd already proven that she cared about Harry's well being.

To his relief Snape nodded his head in agreement. "You would have made a terrific Slytherin Madame Lascelles."

She smiled graciously. "Thank you Severus, I understand that's high praise coming from you." Harry's not sure but he thinks he hears the Headmaster chuckle before the older wizard clears his throat suspiciously.

Elizabeth continued outlining her plan. Harry had little doubt this was all her idea even if she'd credited Dumbledore as well. "If you're amiable to the idea, I would like to make you, Harry, my official grandson. You would remain here at Hogwarts to continue your magical education and live with me in New York while out of school. I'll tell you now that I would expect you to continue some muggle schooling while not at Hogwarts. You'll also need lessons of Nobility and Etiquette, as all children of Noble houses are expected to do so.

Severus has done an acceptable job in regards to your wesen lessons but I would like to supplement those myself. There are many things about our world that you need to learn. I'd be honored to share my knowledge with you Harry."

Elizabeth placed a hand on Harry's shoulder; he was too overwhelmed to speak. "Wait until you've heard the whole plan, then take some time to think on it. No one expects you to make this sort of decision quickly."

Harry nodded, yes, he'd definitely need some time.

"The wesen teachers will be notified and told the same story as the Council, they will also be asked to keep Sirius' _involvement_ a secret until we've established his innocence. The other members of the staff will be told that in the search to cure you of your sudden and inexplicable illness your family ties to me were discovered and that you are now under my custody, official paperwork pending of course."

Harry nodded along, it all made a good amount of sense to him.

"The wesen teachers will be asked to aid in Sirius' capture, however the part of bait will be played by Mr. Lupin. I'm sorry but even though you've gotten some _experience_ with these sorts of things, you still require a considerable amount of training. Also, there's no telling what Sirius' state of mind will be like after twelve years in Azkaban. Dementors are terrible creatures Harry and have a powerful affect on the mind especially after such prolonged exposure."

At seeing Harry deflate slightly she took a hold of his hand and squeezed lightly.

"I'm sorry Harry, I believe Sirius is innocent but I doubt he'll be the same man I remember. It'll take him time to heal, and we'll be there to help him. First though, I ask that you let us take care of the leg work and concentrate on your studies instead."

Harry hesitated. He wanted to be part of this. On the other he could go about his life, enjoy what little bit of normal he could have and try to trust the grown ups to actually take care of things.

Dumbledore spoke next. "Take your time Harry, it has been a very long day, for all us. In truth I believe it is almost dinner time. I've invited Madam Lascelles to stay here at Hogwarts for as long as it is necessary. We have also agreed that you may return to your dorm tonight as well as your classes tomorrow. Once you've made your decision regarding Madame Lascelles custody offer, you may ask Professor McGonagall to bring you to my office. I shall inform her to expect you."

Dumbledore rose stiffly from his stool, with Snape and Elizabeth following suit.

"Madame Lascelles, if you'll follow me I shall show you to your rooms before we make our way to the Great Hall for dinner. All this excitement as me famished I must admit." Dumbledore offered his arm to the Hexenbiest, apparently unbothered by their earlier argument.

"Thank you Albus." Elizabeth made to follow the Headmaster and paused mid-step, she turn back to look at Harry. After a moment of indecision she crouched down and hugged him.

Stunned Harry said nothing, he stood stiffly in the warmth suddenly offered to him. It wasn't the same kind of bone crushing hug usually gave but as foreign as it was it was still comforting. She pulled back, her smile a little awkward this time.

"Whatever you decided Harry, you may always rely on me for help no matter the sort. I like you Harry, you're a talented young man and I believe your parents, especially your mother would be very proud of you." Elizabeth squeezed him once more. She gave a nod towards Snape before joining Dumbledore at the door without another word. They made their way out, Elizabeth coolly accepting the Headmaster offered arm.

Harry made to follow, the idea of food making his stomach growl. Like Dumbledore had said, it had been a long hard day.

"Harry." The young Zauberbiest turned to his potions professor, wondering what the man could possibly have to say seeing as he'd remained mostly silent throughout the day. "Madam Lascelles' offer is sound, she also has a strong reputation in all worlds. I believe you would do well under her care."

He paused to scribble something on a torn piece of parchment, handing to Harry with a sharp glare. "I have no doubt that you will share today's events with Granger and Weasley. I also know that subtlety is not your forte, as such I trust this will serve in saving me the task of covering up for you."

Harry nodded, slightly dazed. Looking down at the parchment he read the words aloud, "Muffliato?" He looked up to Snape, still unsure.

"Yes, for _discretion_." Snape said sounding exasperated.

"Right, _discretion_." Harry repeated doubtfully. He'd just ask Hermione later. He nodded his head. "Thanks sir. See you at dinner I guess."

Snape made an agreeable sound at the back of his throat then shooed Harry away. Once he'd reached the door, Snape called out to him once more. "And Harry. I will know if you use that spell in my classroom, do so and you'll find yourself scrubbing cauldrons until the end of the year."

"Of course, sir." Harry answered hastily as he made his escape. He couldn't wait to get back to some form of normalcy and dinner in the Great Hall sounded fantastic.

* * *

Harry sat comfortably warm and with a full stomach in his favorite chair in front of the roaring fireplace of the Gryffindor common room. As he'd predicted dinner had been amazing, especially with extra helpings of cake in honor of Hermione's birthday.

It had been easy to ignore the stares when he'd arrived amongst the last few student to the Great Hall. He shared a small subtle greeting with Malfoy before making straight for his friends who were standing and waving towards him frantically.

Most of his fellow students greeted him, stating how glad there were that he'd gotten better. A few were expectedly more chill in their greetings, Harry easily guessed those to be the wesen students.

Still he paid it no mind and enjoyed his first meal with his best friends for over a week. If they ate a little faster than everyone else and rushed out of the doors at record speed, well, no one said anything about it.

The moment they'd made it to the common room Harry had had to shush his friends. He'd promised to tell them everything but first they needed to make sure no one could overhear them.

Leading his friends to the chairs surrounding the fireplace, Harry had pulled the little piece of parchment Snape had given him out of his pocket while choosing the seat facing the entrance.

Upon closer inspection of the parchment Harry found the instruction for the spell as well as orders to burn the note as soon as he'd memorised the spell.

The directions had been easy to follow, much more concise than most of the ones from the textbooks. Once Harry was sure he'd be able to remember everything, he did the spell and threw the note in the fireplace.

He sat back down, stretching the silence out a little more. Finally once he'd settled his thoughts Harry took mercy on his friends who looked about ready to burst.

Taking a page from Elizabeth, Harry asked Hermione and Ron to wait until he was done talking to ask question, of which he knew there would be many. Harry didn't know how long they would get before their housemates started drifting back in either so timing was essential at the moment.

Ron and Hermione agreed readily, assuring Harry that he would have their complete attention. He began from the moment Lupin had arrived and did not stop until his last, not to mention strange, conversation with Snape right before he'd come up for dinner.

Harry sat nervously bouncing his leg as he wanted for the deluge of questions to begin, or worse; he feared if they decided that his parentage was too appalling to remain friends.

Ron broke the silence first, exclaiming rather loudly, "Blimey mate, you don't do things by halves do you?"

A surprised chuckled came from Harry while Hermione quietly berated Ron for his outburst.

"It's alright Hermione, with the spell Snape gave me no one will be able to tell what we're saying." Harry smiled placatingly.

"I still can't believe he would give you something like that and basically tell you you could use it in other professor's classes." The witch huffed, arms crossing as she leaned back into the plush armchair.

Ron snorted. "'Course he would, he's a Slytherin ain't he."

This time it was both Harry and Hermione who made noises of disapproval.

The eisbiber waved them off dismissively. "Honestly you two, I'm not wrong. Anyway Harry, it doesn't matter who your dad is. You're still my best mate and that's not about to change."

"He's right Harry, we don't care if you're a Potter or a Black. You'll always be just Harry to us." Hermione beamed as she leaned in to pat Harry's hand affectionately.

Harry took advantage of the slight lull to ask a question of his own. "Do you think I should accept Elizabeth's offer?"

"What do _you_ want to do Harry?" / "Why not?" Hermione and Ron spoke at once, nervous chuckles escaping them. Ron waved for Hermione to have her say first.

"From what you've said, I think this could be a good thing for you Harry. And Dumbledore obviously trust her if he's agreeing with her." The witch shrugged, "It's really your decision Harry and we all know how you feel about the Dursleys."

"Hermione's right you know. Wesen do better when they're together, you shouldn't be out there with those muggles. This Elizabeth woman sounds pretty wicked to me." Ron began as soon as Hermione had stopped.

They were both right of course, "So you don't think I'm crazy for wanting to say yes?"

"Of course not Harry. I think it would be could for you to have an adult in your life that cared about you. And she's not wrong either, this woman is like your grandmother, of a sort." Hermione added reassuringly.

"Yeah mate, she yelled at Dumbledore for you. I don't think even my own mum would do that." Ron pouted slightly.

Harry smiled, that had been pretty remarkable. He thought of having Elizabeth as his grandmother, of living in New York in the summers and remaining at Hogwarts with his friends and Harry felt almost giddy with hope and excitement.

"Does that mean you've made up your mind?" Hermione asked, correctly interpreting his happy expression.

"I think so yeah." Harry looked into the fire, basking in this moment of contentment with his best friends.

There was a cough from Ron. "Listen Harry," the eisbiber hesitated, then looked to Hermione who only urged him on. "I've told her, it's considered rude to just ask what a wesen's woge looks like and that I can't tell her what you look like either. It's not up to me." Ron shot annoyed look towards the witch.

"What he's trying to say is that I was curious if I could see your woge, if that alright of course. It's just all Ron will tell me is that it's different from his." Hermione twisted her fingers nervously, Harry didn't begrudge her being curious but he could understand Ron reticence.

Harry knew that even he found no issues with his appearance, there would be a lot of people who would be scared and even disgusted by the Zauberbiest and Hexenbiest woges. With that in mind he found it best to warn her. "It's alright Hermione, honestly I don't mind but I should warn you, I don't think you'll find nearly as cute as Ron's."

"Oi!" Ron grumbled obviously unimpressed by the statement. "No offence mate but I'm just going to look over there while you, you know." The redhead turned his head towards the fire, at first it had hurt Harry's feelings a little but he understood now that it could be distressing to others.

"Please Harry, just once?" Hermione overcome by her need to learn new things inched closer to Harry, as much as she could while still in her chair anyway.

Harry took a look at the door, they probably still had a few more minutes. Everyone usually dragged their feet after Sunday dinner in the hopes of staving off the oncoming monday. "Just don't scream please."

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly Harry, it can't be that bad."

Ron and Harry shared a snort.

"Very well, I promise I won't scream Harry." Hermione smiled, almost vibrating with excitement.

Harry shrugged, oh well, at least the common was still empty. "Alright then, here goes." With a now well practise movement; Harry willed his woge to be visible to a non-wesen. Harry the Zauberbiest now sat in the chair.

To her credit, a sharp intake of breath was all the sound Hermione allowed herself to make. Though she did cover her mouth for a few moments, wide eyes studying all of Harry's decayed features before fixating on his empty eye sockets.

Hermione stood from her chair, slowly coming to stand in front of Harry's then kneeling down so their faces were level. She brought her right hand up, Harry was impressed that it wasn't shaking. The witch did hesitate just as she made to touch his face.

"Does it hurt?" She asked with genuine worry.

Harry only shook his head no. It didn't surprise him that that was what she was more concerned about. Hermione made another halted move towards his face.

He swallowed dryly, "It's alright Hermione, I won't bite I swear." His voice came out with a slight rasp and even he had to admit his nervous chuckle sounded a little creepy.

But his best friend only seemed relieved by his levity. She poked his cheek lightly before brushing the rest of her fingers down careful, as if she was worried she'd hurt him somehow. To him it felt like a regular touch, if only with his skin being a little dry.

Hermione pulled her hand back then returned to her seat. "Thank you Harry."

The Zauberbiest returned to his usual human features. "No worries, Hermione." He turned to Ron. "You can look now."

Ron who'd done just as he'd said turned hesitantly to peak at Harry. "Oh thank Merlin." The boy sank with relief into his chair.

"You're such a child Ronald." Hermione shook her head while she shared an exasperated sigh with Harry.

Soon afterwards, the common began to fill with other Gryffindors. The trio were soon joined by friends and classmates to make idle chit chat. The conversation eventually turned to the unknown blond woman who'd been sitting at the teacher's table next to the Headmaster.

Harry sighed, should he say something? The theories being thrown around were getting ridiculous and he didn't want it to get out of hand. He gave a questioning look to Ron and Hermione. They smiled and nodded in support.

"Actually, that's my grandmother." Well, he certainly couldn't back out now.

The common room became instantly quiet. Once everyone had registered what Harry had just said he found himself surrounded by a horde curious Gryffindors.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey all, big thank you to everyone who's following along. You're all wonderful.

Sorry about the delay, I re-wrote this several times. I also decided to post this now even though it's likely to need some edits still. But I couldn't let y'all wait any longer.

The story is going to start picking up in pace soon and I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Questions? Request? Pats on the head? feel free to leave a review :)

 ***If you're wondering about my other fic, angel with a shotgun, chapter 12 is being stubborn and currently in its 4th re-write. I'm pretty sure it should be done by the end of the month***


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